How I Met My Muse at Magnolia Part One

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
― Cicero

Each spring, for more than a decade, I have been drawn to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens during the peak bloom of the azaleas. I am by no means the only photographer who feels this pull. Photographers travel from across the country in order to

create images in one of the most spectacularly beautiful locations I have ever encountered.

I go to Magnolia to meet my muse.

I have found my muse in Magnolia every year without fail. It isn’t always easy, but with perseverance, it happens.

This year, I made five separate day trips to my favorite garden to find inspiration. Each day trip began between three and four o’clock in the morning. It is then that I wake and prepare to get in the car to drive the three-hour-long route to the gardens.

Time has taught me that there are steps I need to take to meet my muse. Most of the time, I need to be completely alone. If I am not alone, I need to travel with a person with whom I am extremely comfortable. Once we reach the destination where I go to meet my muse, I will need to have space and time to do so.

Time is crucial. There must be enough of it to observe, wander, and experiment.

I always begin by taking the photographs that simply must be taken in order to capture the beauty that is present all around me. Only after taking these photographs can I start making images that are more personal, more my way of seeing Magnolia.

Here are some of my initial photographs.

The combination of beautiful light, stunning scenery, and being present helped me capture these images.

Somewhere during the process of making them, I find my muse.  My muse leads me to a deeper place where I can begin to make work unlike what I have created before at Magnolia.  I will be sharing those images later this week.

My friend and teaching partner, Jamie Konarski Davidson, and I regularly make space and time to meet our muses.  We would be delighted if you would join us on a five-day experience exploring our processes for doing so this summer during our Meet Your Muse in Raleigh Workshop.  You can find more information about that workshop here.