I began photographing endangered and threatened plants in the W. J. Beal Botanical Garden the first week of September. I had just been awarded the 2013 Chris Clark Fellowship from the Arts Council of Greater Lansing and was waiting until I had purchased my new camera
with the award money before starting the project. I made several trips to the Beal Garden and photographed twelve
different plant species:
One endangered species - purple turtlehead (Chelone obliqua)
Nine threatened species - canadian
burnet (Sanguisorba canadensis), cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum), queen of the prairie (Filipendula rubra), rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium), rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium), starry campion (Silene stellata), wild oats (Uniola
latifolia), Houghton's goldenrod (Solidago
houghtonii), and downy sunflower (Helianthus
mollis).
Two special concern species - lead plant (Amorpha canescens) and seedbox (Ludwigia
alternifolia)
When I first wrote the proposal for this project, I hadn't yet decided
if I would photograph the actual plants or the shadows of the plants. However,
it was clear during the very first shoot that the shadows carried a much
stronger message, on many different levels. It was a sunny day and
the act of positioning the white board and tripod, avoiding my own shadow, and trying
not to touch the plants proved to be extremely challenging - in a good way. I experimented
with stretching the shadows and came away with several strong images. But you'll have to wait to see them. :)
The endangered and threatened plant garden is located in a
bed along an embankment under some trees, though there are a few species located in other beds
and near one of the ponds below. It truly is a beautiful garden. I can't wait to return in the spring.
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