The Portland Japanese Garden: Peace and Harmony
I relish every visit to the Portland Japanese Garden, I find walking from the parking lot, up the path and on to the garden entry is an opportunity to get into the contemplative mindset. I try to get to the Garden at least once every month and it is never the same. Each season brings new challenges and opportunities, I challenge myself to explore areas beyond the obvious photo opportunities and to capture the continuous process of nature changing.
Garden paths are uneven and filled with turns and angles; I find these attributes helpful in slowing down the exploration of nature. As I pause to maintain footing and move along the path, new views often present themselves. When I teach and coach photographers, I often suggest looking back at the 180-degree view; this is really a useful way to approach the Garden.
The Portland Japanese Garden directs visitors to stay on established paths and walkways, while I appreciate and support this rule for the maintenance and preservation of the Garden, I do find that it creates challenges for photography. This is particularly true when one of my goals is to create photographs from unique angles and perspectives. The solution to this issue is often having different len variations available.
I hope you enjoy these views of a very special place.
