Gibbs Gardens in My Dreams

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.”
― Edgar Allan Poe

Each fall, one of my favorite places to photograph is Gibbs Gardens, located in Ball Ground, Georgia.   I  began visiting the garden to photograph the brilliant colors of fall in 2016.  You can see the images from previous year’s trips using the related links below.

While the entire garden is putting on a show, most visitors are drawn to the Japanese gardens for their striking reds and yellows in the fall.  These brilliant colors reflecting in the ponds throughout the gardens magnify the beauty.

Each year, I try to come away from the gardens with different images.  This year, I decided to travel light.  This meant carrying my camera with one lens attached, an additional lens, and no tripod.  This was a difficult choice for me as I felt this decision might cause me to miss out on something.  On the positive side, it reduced my pack from twenty-six pounds to just a little over eight pounds.  I also didn’t have more than five pounds of tripod with a ball head attached to carry.  The lighter load certainly allowed me to have more spring in my step and energy for creating.

I have always encouraged my students to become lifelong learners.  I am constantly working to learn and try new things with my photography.

While taking a class titled Break Free from the Rules,  I have developed a renewed interest in exploring with the Lensbaby.  This is thanks to the instructor, April Milani.   I have had two Lensbaby lenses for years, but have done very little exploration with them in quite some time.

I decided to use only the Lensbaby this fall while photographing at Gibbs Gardens.  For me, this decision was a stretch since a trip to the gardens requires nine hours of driving in one day.  The following images are those I created while seeing the gardens through my Lensbaby Sweet 35.

I thoroughly enjoyed my two separate day trips to the gardens this fall.  I loved exploring the beauty there with great friends.  Using my Lensbaby allowed me to capture the gardens in a different way.  I tend to view these images of the gardens as I see them in my dreams.