The Garden Slows Everything Down

Stillness in the Botanical Garden

There’s a particular kind of stillness that happens in a botanical garden that doesn’t happen anywhere else I photograph.

It’s not the stillness of a mountain lake at dawn, where you’re holding your breath waiting for the light to change. It’s quieter than that. More generous. A botanical garden doesn’t ask you to hurry. The light filters through in soft, unhurried ways. And somehow, that permission to slow down unlocks something in me as a photographer that I don’t always find in the field.

I always anxiously await the tulip bloom in my local botanical garden so I can use a wide aperture for some soft, dreamy effects.

I noticed it the first time I wandered into the dahlia section at a garden near home with no particular plan: no shot list, no golden hour alarm set on my phone. I had my macro lens on, which forces a certain kind of intimacy with your subject anyway. But it was more than the gear. It was the atmosphere of the place. Something about being surrounded by intentional beauty, tended and alive, made me feel like I had permission to be equally intentional. To stop. To really look.

With a macro lens in hand, even the most ordinary potted flowers become a world of texture, color, and quiet discovery. During a visit to my mother in law in Redding, I photographed the blooms on her deck—an attempt to bring her closer to the small, beautiful details she loves.

That’s when the light clicks on for me — not the golden hour light, though I love that too — but the internal light. The one that switches on when you stop thinking about what you should be photographing and start responding to what’s actually in front of you. A single poppy backlit so its petals glow like stained glass. Dewdrops on a stem you almost stepped over. The way a bumblebee makes a flower nod.

Teaching at an incredible week at the Out of Chicago Photography conference in the stunning Chicago Botanic Garden last year was a dream! Known for its diverse plant life, the garden attracts many pollinators.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this ahead of the Outdoor Photo Alliance Women’s Photography Retreat in September, where I’ll be presenting Chasing Your Own Light — a session about breaking free from comparison and following the inspiration that’s genuinely, specifically yours. After my talk, we’ll head out together for a botanical photography session at Denver Botanic Gardens, and honestly, I can’t think of a better place to put those ideas into practice.

Because if you want to understand what it feels like to photograph from a place of genuine curiosity rather than ambition, a botanical garden will teach you faster than almost anywhere else. There’s no dramatic landscape to lean on. No epic conditions to wait for. Just you, the light, and something quietly extraordinary growing right in front of you.

That’s the whole lesson, really.

If you’re a woman photographer considering the retreat, use BETH100, valid through June 15th, to save on registration.

After the retreat, join me for a private 4-hour mindful photography experience at Denver Botanic Gardens, limited to 6 participants. $200/person, admission included.

This add-on workshop is pending permit approval from Denver Botanic Gardens. Permits open August 1st, and I will confirm all spots and collect payment by August 7th. Message me to add your name to the interest list now to secure your place in line.

I’d love to see you there, and in that garden!