Showcase 2019 Altered Reality, Judges’ Choice: Flowers Barbados – Tabernaemontana divaricata , Pinwheel Flower © Arabella Dane.
Bio:
Arabella Dane is an accredited photography judge, a member of two camera clubs in New England, 2 Photography Society of America study groups ,as well as a serving as an emeritus Garden Club of America photography judge and instructor. She is the founder of the GCA Photography Study Group, and is the coordinator for the photography initiatives of the National Garden Clubs, working with Charlie Burke, PSA past president, to develop online photography programs and competitions for the NGC membership (250,000 members).
She regularly competes in photography competitions and takes courses in photography. She shares with her husband Nat a love for nature, gardening, conservation, fishing, bird shooting, traveling, and photography. Arabella is an avid horticulture student – working most recently on the correlations between our native plants and their pollinators. Her online www.plantipedia.com web site includes more than 150,000 plants and 25,000 plant photographs as well as photos of many of our native butterflies and is a favorite resource for plant huggers.
Your Name: Arabella Dane
Title of Your Winning Image: Flowers Barbados – Tabernaemontana divaricata , Pinwheel Flower
About your winning Showcase image:
1) How I Got the Shot
This flower was growing in the garden of Infinity on the Beach Hotel in Barbados. I took the picture with my iPhone in June of 2017 with the intent of adding it to my online plant database project www.plantipedia.com.
2) What I Used
Most of my images are taken with my Canon 70D and my preferred lens is a Tamron 70-200. I usually shoot in RAW. However, this image of the Barbados flower was taken with my iPhone.
I always use Lightroom (on my laptop) to start working on my pictures, and generally finish them off in Lightroom, too. However, I used this flower image in a photoshop course on layers, combining it with a shot of a cornfield, made very opaque. Then I used some of the apps on my phone to get the interesting textural effects. The apps I generally use on my phone are Brushstroke, Mextures, and Distressed FX, but am not sure which ones might have contributed to this image.
3) About Me
My husband and I live in Center Harbor, NH, and I am a non-professional/hobbyist photographer. We both love to travel and are ardent conservationists. I’ve been photographing nature subjects since childhood, enjoying shooting wherever my camera takes me.
4) My Photographic Journey
As a child my great aunt and my grandfather both encouraged my interest in nature, art and science – providing me with cameras and books and tempting me with new ways of looking at the world.
Being encouraged to become a photography judge for the garden clubs; taking courses and workshops; visiting amazing places have each been important in developing my skills. Exploring the world thru my camera’s lens keeps me interested in photography.
5) NANPA and Me
I’ve been a member for quite a few years. I have enjoyed meetings and workshops in Maine, & Florida, North Carolina and New Hampshire and have taken courses from NANPA members who graciously share their expertise.This is the first time I’ve entered Showcase.
Although I’ve yet to serve in a volunteer capacity at NANPA, I do a great deal of volunteer work with the garden clubs, (with their flower shows, their photography programs as well as with their conservation, floral art, and horticultural programs). And I am involved with various conservation art and horticultural organizations as a volunteer, a lecturer, photo judge, competition coordinator and instructor.
6) Where Can People Learn More About You?
More of my work can be viewed at my plant database project, www.plantipedia.com and my PSA page.
My NANPA Portfolio is: https://nanpa.org/portfolio/arabella-dane-2019/ .
