It’s the end of the work day, I’m home from the office and doing a shoot in my kitchen. I have a tripod and cable release, to reduce camera shake on this overcast dark day. And yes, I’m using one of my cutting boards as a reflector card. This is my happy place.

You all know about the Organic Gardening Reader Photo Contest, don’t forget to cast your votes for one of the 10 finalists. I’m also happy to let you know I’m guest judging the Gardening Gone Wild “Picture This” contest for September.

When Gardening Gone Wild’s Fran Sorin asked me to come up with a theme for this month’s contest, I looked around and thought about what I’m photographing right now. Here’s what I wrote her:

Summer is ending, and I’ve been racing around the gardens storing up spots of color before it is officially autumn. Oh, the lettuce will be germinating soon and my fall flowers will be blooming, but I’m not quite ready to let go of the summer.

Since it’s such a gloomy day on the east coast, I thought I’d show you this photo from our gardens last September. See, saving all that color helps on a rainy day.

Now we need your vote! I’ve put some thumbnails of the final 10 here, to tease you. You can see the photos at a larger size (and at their full frames) and vote for them here.

By the end of the photo shoot, I was thoroughly coated in mulch and mud, but happy. It’s weird to focus on a micro world, lost in shapes and thought, and then gradually come back into the real world. (It’s nice, too. The entire time I was shooting, I managed to drown out the cicada buzz/rattle. It’s been bugging me all week.)

Towering above, the mushrooms look like flowers.

I photographed the mushroom city with my digital slr and an f-stop of 2.8. You can fake depth of field with your point-and-shoot camera. Focus your camera at something in the foreground (by pushing the shutter halfway down so it focuses there). Without releasing the shutter, move the camera to compose your shot, then shoot.

It’s been a VERY busy, but very good summer. A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Seed Savers conference in Decorah to teach a garden photography workshop.

When I first got there, I walked around the display gardens. Really beautiful.

On Saturday night, before dinner, I got to wander around Diane’s garden and spend time enjoying the light. While thinking about the things I would teach at the workshop, I saw a little garden detail which exemplified my favorite garden photo advice. Look at things from all sides.

Shot from above, but the Love-In-A-Mist was distracting:

Moved the camera lower, now the shot is more about the plants:

Thought to myself, “what detail might the reader want from a photo like this?” The way it is woven?

Or maybe what it looks like from the other side?

Naturally, I got distracted by the same Love-in-a-mist that got in the way of my other shot, and gave it some time in the spotlight.

It was a busy two days. In addition to the workshop, I photographed a feature and a department for 2012, and met a lot of really fun and interesting people. (And I’m not just saying that because Tom and Jess helped me do a photo shoot in a heat wave.) It’s too bad we couldn’t spend a week in Decorah. I’d like to go back and see the isolation gardens and spend more time with everyone.

photo by Tom from Seed Savers

Old seed packet stamps in the Seed Savers store.

Lastly, here’s a bit of exciting (to me, and I hope to you) news–this year our book division made a 2012 Organic Gardening planner, featuring my photography. We had a box of them sent out to the conference. (They even had them out with the actual author’s books for their book signing. Whoa.) The planner won’t be sold in stores, but I got the link to share with you (especially all of you readers who are related to me.)  Buy me, I’m pretty.