I was lucky enough recently to be able to make a visit to Monet’s house and garden.
ISO 800 22mm f/13 1/640sec
This shot is of the water garden, there is a more formal style garden closer to the house. It’s a popular place even first thing in the morning still in the off-season. Walking in the garden it stuck me how versatile it was designed to be. Lots of different plants would mean that it would look different over the course of the year. Also, it’s an obviously planned space where the angle of light and time of day would make a big difference.
It’s a popular attraction, so my shots showing the overall gardens have a lot of people in them. It would be lovely to have the place to yourself. I walked this part of the garden twice. Once with my 50mm lens and once with my 11-22mm lens. The photo in this post was taken with the wider angle lens.
For this particular interpretation of the scene, I wanted to create a vintage look, toning down some of the brightness of the original shot while still maintaining the reflections in the water. I have posted the original shot below. One of the first things I did was crop the photo. I then left a few bright spots in the photo, both in the sky and in the water, to attract attention to the trees and their reflection below.
ISO 800 22mm f/13 1/640sec
What do you think of this particular interpretation? Feel free to leave a comment below.
This post has been added to Thursday’s Special, Pick a Word in June.
Cheers!
Photography Journal Blog 
I think you succeeded in creating the ‘vintage’ look. What I find interesting is how the final version which seems more muted has in some ways a painterly quality. The crop does bring the focus to the trees and the reflections in the water which are wonderfully rich.
I like both versions, and they feel very different from each other.
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Thank you very much for thinking about this. I agree that the final does have a more painterly feel. I have been thinking about creating another version that would not, maybe even in black and white. The trip to this garden has certainly given me a lot to think about.
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I think all the best…! Magnificent reflections!
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Thank you so much 🙂
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Beautiful reflections:)
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Thank you 🙂 I have edited this comment after I saw your other one.
Cheers!
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what an amazing shot
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Thanks, as you can imagine, it was a beautiful place.
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Lucky you! Your photo(s) are lovely!
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Thanks, and it was really nice to have the opportunity to visit.
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Yes, your editing really gives it a redolence of the paintings he did. I thought, wow! it’s just like the paintings! But then a look at the original photo indicated that your editing brought it into a more painting-like look. You’re an artist, Amy!
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One of the interesting things about this garden and about some of the other places we visited that were frequent subjects for Impressionist paintings, was that you had seen the scene before, yet it was different. It was nice to see these places in person and then think a bit more about how the artist(s) chose to interpret them in their work. It gave me a lot to think about.
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I can see that! The “how they chose to interpret them” makes some doors open to being inventive. I also thought your comment on how populated the garden was made me think about how much we elevate a place of special note and then sort of ruin it by overrunning it, at times. Some of our National Parks, for instance. We have this lovely Japanese Garden here in Seattle, and last year I decided to get a membership so that I could enjoy it more, but if you go there in any sort of decent weather you are not alone. Very not alone. And it’s a small small place. Kind of a bummer. 🙂
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Yes, when we love our special places to death. That’s always the downside to trying to protect a place since obviously bringing people in is part of the way of showing that it is special and worth protecting.
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You said it!
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I love this scene, the reflections, the water like glass. 🌸
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Yes, it was just so beautiful.
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Wow! Beautiful reflections.
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Thanks very much!
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Your edit is actually the way I remember the gardens in my mind’s eye. It has been a long while since I visited and you have transported me back!
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How interesting! It is beautiful and after I made this edit I found myself thinking, I wonder if I should give a try to editing it so it doesn’t seem like an impressionist painting.
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That is so funny! Pushing boundaries in all directions!
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That’s part of the beauty of digital as well, there is no reason why I couldn’t go back and try another type of edit.
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Absolutely!
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Your edit is perfect, it conveys the atmposphere best! For me it looks like a lazy summer’s day in this abundant garden.
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Thank you very much. It was early in the season, but a beautiful warm summer day.
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lovely
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thanks 🙂
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It’s almost like plunging into one of his paintings 🙂 Thank you for this beautiful contribution, Amy.
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Thank you, this was the first thing that came to mind when I saw your words for this month.
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Hi, Amy. Lovely shot! I think you’ve captured a more Impressionistic effect in your photo. I’m wondering what your shot would look like if you used Topaz Effects, the painting filters. They have an Impressionist pre-set.
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Interesting that you should say that because adding a filter like that is an edit that I was thinking of trying 🙂
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Beautiful! I think this is one of my favourite gardens, I have very happy memories of our visit there some years ago. Watching your two versions of the garden is like being right back there. Well done.
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Thank you so much, we had a lovely visit. It was really crowded but well worth it.
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