Portland Japanese Garden, Oregon
The infamous Japanese Maple inside the revered Portland Japanese Botanical Gardens has been on my bucket list of places to shoot for over a decade. This October, the stars aligned and I booked a ticket to Portland for peak autumn color! It had been raining for a week straight but when I landed the low clouds and fog began to burn off revealing some hopeful light.
I made my first visit to the gardens in the afternoon and immediately was overwhelmed by the beauty of the landscape and this particular Japanese maple. A few photographers and garden enthusiasts were huddled around the tree capturing the moment as I previewed the scene and began to conceptualize my composition. Once I set up underneath the canopy, the tree’s presence was so much larger and immersive, it was obvious why it had attracted so much attention. The branches seemed to spread out in all directions while the color palette was a literal rainbow of autumn splendor. The saturated bed of moss beneath the tree had sprouted several marvelous little fairy mushrooms making for a scene straight out of a fantasy!
After capturing a few different angles, the sheer magnitude of the details was starting to overwhelm me. Subtle changes in my cameras position would reveal completely different architecture of the tree’s branches. Choosing a wide angled lens and filtered afternoon light highlighting the moss-covered branches, I captured the image I had envisioned. It is rare to find a subject with such singularity, I was ecstatic to have captured it in peak color! By this time, the gardens had emptied out significantly as the light was fading in the short hours of late October in the Northwest. Grinning, I packed my bag and made my way to the exit admiring the beauty of this special little corner of a vibrant city.
Tree of Hope symbolizes peace and harmony of nature and humanity. The presence of this tree is so significant despite its small stature, bringing people of all walks of life together to witness its beauty, perfected by the loving hands of the gardeners who manicure these grounds.
100 LIMITED EDITION / 5 ARTIST PROOF