Dahlia and the Gift of Wonder

Dahlia and Bud

Dahlia and Bud © 2012 Bo Mackison

Wonder is the heaviest element on the periodic table. Even a tiny fleck of it stops time. ~ Diane Ackerman

Have you ever been walking in a garden, or a woods, or a desert – anywhere, really, surrounded by the natural world – and suddenly stopped, unable to take another step until you took the time to absorb the many sensations of that exact place?

That sudden stop – it happens to me frequently. Even when I hurry myself along, reminding myself that I only have time for a twenty-minute walk, I am unable to push through, to ignore. I simply must stop.

To do what? Gaze with wonder at a flower, or the pattern and colors of bark on a tree, or the lapping of the waves of Lake Michigan, or the intricate web of a spider…

Wonder. Yes. For me, wonder is a definite time stopper.

What a gift that is – priceless – the ability to totally focus on one small part of the world, on one small part of nature. To see it, truly see it. The dahlia petals, each in place, each twisted into a slightly asymmetrical cone, each petal packed tighter as the rows get closer to the center.

And the pattern on each petal?  Not a single one the same. They are like a snowflake or a fingerprint – each one unique. So much to look at, to explore with my senses. I hold onto these memories for another time, when I am without a flower or a garden or perhaps without any time or place for a walk.

Wonder stops time for me. Does it stop time for you?

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Bo has learned one thing from ‘walking with wonder’ – if she wants to walk for exercise she either needs to wear blinders, walk with a friend, or walk inside where she can ignore the distractions!

Dahlia, Oh Dahlia

Dahlia, Oh Dahlia

Dahlia, Oh Dahlia © 2012 Bo Mackison

It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful country lies in between. ~ Diane Ackerman

Dahlias are my favorite flower to shoot. When I find a dahlia I love, I usually return a dozen times so I can capture the dahlia in its many stages, from bud to petals scattered on the garden earth. But when a dahlia I fall in love with is in a garden 200 miles from my home, I can’t visit over and over. The next best thing? Take an hour’s worth of photos in this patch of dahlias, every angle, in diffused light, in sun patches. Blowing in the breeze, and captured in a still air.

After I processed with photograph by de-saturating the colors, I could only look at the giant photo on my computer screen and think, “Dahlia, oh dahlia!” I’m in awe of this beautiful flower.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is busy at work, finishing a few new photographs to bring to the Third Ward Art Festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this coming weekend. More info to follow.

Boardwalk to the Beach

Beach Boardwalk

Beach Boardwalk © 2012 Bo Mackison

An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day. ~ Henry David Thoreau

What a thrill to watch as the sun rises over Lake Michigan. And then another thrill – equally as amazing – when I turn away from the sun, and see the sunlight’s effect on everything within my view.

This photo was taken just north of Bailey’s Harbor, a small village in Door County, Wisconsin. The boardwalk is lined with snow fence for the summer as a beach grass re-introduction project is kept protected from the many feet of the beach visitors. The snow fence, a rather mobile fencing structure, always provides wonderful opportunities for photography. I am especially thrilled with the zig zag lines on the wobbly fence as the day’s sun lifts from the eastern horizon, and swathes the worn fence in deep golden tones.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Bo is now home, and looking through the many photographs she took on her weekend trip to one of Wisconsin’s finest Vacationlands, Door County.

A Pair of Water Lilies

Yellow Water Lilies

Yellow Water Lilies © 2012 Bo Mackison

Simple pleasures are the last refuge of the complex.  ~ Oscar Wilde

August Break 2012

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is taking an August break from writing long blog posts, but garden walks and the photos continue. Bo photographed these pond lilies at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison.

Garden Senses

Showy Garden

Showy Garden © 2012 Bo Mackison

Of all the ingredients we employ in the creation of a garden, scent is probably
the most potent and the least understood. Its effects can be either direct and
immediate, drowning our senses in a surge of sugary vapor, or they can
be subtle and delayed, slowly wafting into our consciousness, stirring our
emotions and coloring our thoughts. ~ Steven Lacy

I lose my anxieties, my worries of the day, when I am strolling along the garden paths. Perhaps it is the full sensory experience – eyes feasting on a multitude of colors, drifting in and out of floral fragrances, accompanied by the rustling of the overhead leaves, the birds chattering, the flowers bobbing.

And even the senses that seem to be second tier senses in most experiences are available. An invitation is extended in the herb garden — pick a leaf, feel its texture, crush it and release the aromatics, awaken your sense of smell. Deep smell. Rich, luxurious, but ephemeral.

The garden is a sensorium, it offers a full sensual experience. Ah, the pleasures.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer of the seeded earth and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Ah, the gardens bring smiles to the faces of those who walk their paths…I’m smiling.