AHS 2010 Great American Gardeners Awards

Last Thursday, I photographed the 2010 Great American Gardeners Awards, hosted by the American Horticultural Society at their headquarters on River Farm. Did you know that River Farm was just one of George Washington’s five farms? He never actually lived on the farm, preferring to rent it instead. This beautiful property offers a stunning view of the Potomac River and there are so many things in bloom this time of year.

Click on the link below to go to my main blog and see the award descriptions, winner biographies, and photographs. I just love meeting and photographing these movers and shakers in the field of horticulture! This year was no exception—go take a look below:

http://cindydyer.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/ahs-great-american-gardeners-awards-2010/

Road trip to Harrisonburg

Today Michael and I headed out to the Green Valley Book Fair in Harrisonburg, Virginia, about 2-1/2 hours away (you know, because we simply need more books). The late afternoon sky was spectacular—simultaneously gloomy on our right with swaths of cornflower blue on our left. Then the sun broke through a dark patch, illuminating the barren trees. We were compelled to pull over and get this can’t-miss-it shot.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

What’s on my nightstand now…

Some people like light reading to lull them to sleep. I sometimes opt for the techie photography books! Currently residing on my nightstand are two very informative books on the subject of closeup/macro photography—Macro Photography for Gardeners and Nature Lovers, by Alan L. Detrick (published by Timber Press, Inc.) and Cyrill Harnischmacher’s Closeup Shooting: A Guide to Closeup, Tabletop, and Macro Photography (published by Rocky Nook, Inc.). The latter link allows you to download sample pages in pdf format.

Another of Harnischmacher’s books, Low Budget Shooting: Do It Yourself Solutions to Professional Photo Gear, is also on my nightstand at the moment. The author shows you how to create ingenious DIY projects with inexpensive supplies. What a great idea for a book! I read the reviews on Amazon and many readers wish the author had expanded on the how-to portion of the book with more details. Even so, if you want to replicate expensive studio accessories on a budget, the book is still worth purchasing. You can download sample pages in pdf format on the link provided.

As you might well assume, I own a plethora of photography books (who am I kidding—I own books on just about any subject you can toss at me—unless it involves math, that is). Alan Detrick’s Macro Photography for Gardeners and Nature Lovers is one of my top favorites on that subject and I highly recommend it. Click on this link here to view 17 pages from this book.

AHS 2009 Great American Gardeners Awards

Last Thursday night I photographed the American Horticultural Society’s 2009 Great American Gardeners Awards dinner, hosted by AHS at their River Farm headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. For some strange reason, I couldn’t get the layout and photos to copy intact to this blog, so I’m giving you a link below to the main blog instead.

I was particularly excited to meet Amy Goldman, author of The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table: Recipes, Portraits, and History of the World’s Most Beautiful Fruit, as well as two other beautiful books. The Heirloom Tomato won a book award this year.

Check out the photos and write-up on the award winners on my main blog:

http://cindydyer.wordpress.com/2009/06/10/ahs-great-american-gardener-awards/