Secret Hiding Place

Posted by Tracey (Maryland, United States) on 7 October 2009 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.

Longwood Gardens
Pennsylvania, September 2009

The last time I went to Longwood Gardens, I left my zoom at home. I forced myself to work with my 50mm prime and my Lens Baby to take more landscape shots. It is so tempting to just work with macros in a place like this. The beautiful flower buds are just calling for macros, but I wanted to push myself to do something different.

That is when, towards the end of my stay there, that I came across this beautiful spot. What a lush, inviting, quiet place to sit and think. Or take pictures ;0)

As for yesterday, my visit to Johns Hopkins was an eye opening experience for sure. There were people from every walk of life on campus with every illness in the book. It was a bit overwhelming to be in the midst of this ant-hill like activity. Buzz, buzz, buzz everywhere.

After 4 1/2 hours there I was finally given a clean bill of health for the time being. If I ever have an allergic reaction again where my eosinophils go that high, they do want to see me again, but until then...I am good. So, that is a relief for sure!

Weigh In: Do you have a favorite place to sit and be quiet? Tell us about it!

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Comments (14)

Marion from Nanaimo, BC, Canada

So green and lush.

7 Oct 2009 6:05am

@Marion: I know...the perfect place to put in my mind for stressful moments. ;0)

GJC from Kyoto (京都), Japan

Good for you for pushing yourself to keep expanding your work. When you are so good at something, as you are, it's tempting to keep exploring that. This is a lovely, contemplative landscape. I like that you included the trunk of the tree in the immediate foreground, because it makes the place seem even more "secret."

7 Oct 2009 6:09am

@GJC: Thanks, my friend! I too liked it much better than the tree cropped out version. I tried it both ways and this was much better. I think I like the feel of "peeking around the corner" to see the other side!

Frida from Sweden

So lush greens and it's a perfect place to rest for a while.

7 Oct 2009 9:23am

@Frida: I agree! Thanks for visiting, Frida!

margaret from United States

Gorgeous...I must visit there! And phew, so glad to hear about your clean bill of health! Fingers crossed for continued good health for you, my friend.

About the question du jour...hmmm. Would it be lame to say my favorite place for quiet time is the LaZBoy in the living room, with the birds nearby and a cat on my lap? For me, that's the definition of bliss :-)

7 Oct 2009 10:54am

@margaret: You must visit there...yes! We should make a date and meet there! Field trip!

Dawn from Maryland, United States

You have such a good eye!! Love the framing on this one Tracey!!! : )

7 Oct 2009 12:21pm

@Dawn: So sweet, Dawn! You are a cutie pie!

bluechameleon from Vancouver, Canada

A hidden jewel...love this mysterious setting.

7 Oct 2009 12:56pm

@bluechameleon: Thanks! I do love this spot. I wish I lived closer. I have a season pass, but it is an hour's drive for me :0(

Hassan from Tehran, Iran

Great shot. love the tree in front. so strong. and nice and peacfull green environment with a place to hid

7 Oct 2009 2:21pm

@Hassan: Thanks Hassan! I really liked the foreground interest the tree added here. I am glad you like it too!

Jessica from United States

This makes me want to hop in the car and drive straight to Longwood Gardens. I LOVE this! Usually any place near a large body of water (lakes and really big ponds count!) are the perfect just sit and think spots for me. Something about the water is just so calming.

7 Oct 2009 2:47pm

@Jessica: I have to agree...there is something special about water that is healing for sure. Thanks for stopping in my friend!

Chris from South Jersey, United States

I have seen and photographed this spot before - it is very serene and a wonderful spot to shoot....I love the lushness that you captured here although I think I would have moved the gazebo a bit more towards the right (rule of thirds)....great shot....glad all your tests turned out ok

7 Oct 2009 4:07pm

@Chris: Thanks for the critique, Chris! I normally would agree with you, however to achieve repositioning the gazebo at a sweet spot, I would have had to crop out the tree in the foreground. I tried it both ways while framing the shot in the camera and liked this version much better. ;0)

MARIANA from Waterloo, Canada

BEautiful scene. Great shot !

7 Oct 2009 4:14pm

@MARIANA: Thanks so much!

Lisa's Chaos from Plover, United States

This is a gorgeous place!

7 Oct 2009 5:35pm

Ronnie 2¢ from Atlantic Shores, United Kingdom

Places like this bring us close to Nature and encourage a sense of greater ‘belonging’, I suspect : there is an unspoken comfort in that. Your image sure confirms the color green is alive and well in all her forms and see the impact of including no sky in the frame.

One of my own favorite places could well be the UK equivalent of those very gardens – Kew Gardens – which are walking distance of my London home. But I always say my very favorite place is being lost in a book : no matter where I read it !

7 Oct 2009 7:05pm

@Ronnie 2¢: Thanks for weighing in on the question today, Ronnie. I love to hear about what others at Am3 think about things other than photography! You are lucky the gardens are within walking distance! It takes me an hour's drive to get to this one!

MadScientist from Düsseldorf, Germany

This is so English - if you allow a Geman to say this. :-) Ronnie is right, the missing sky is no loss here; the living green is enough for itself. My favourite place, that's easy: it would be an old small town with a dozen of churches and surrounded by big parks of classic arcadian beauty. Some mountains and the sea in the not so far distance of course ;-) Until this comes true I'll content myself with subsets of this phantasy.
(So glad your diagnosis was fortunate! I can empathize with you a bit, as I'm harassed by an overly active immune system, too.)

7 Oct 2009 8:54pm

Laurie from New Jersey, United States

This is such a lovely spot.

12 Oct 2009 2:38pm

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Canon EOS 5D
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F/16.0
ISO 800
50 mm