I call this photo "that damn tour bus ruined my cover shot!" I took this on my way down to the Bulb Library and Cherry Trees with a brief detour to the Freer/Sackler and stops along the way to photograph any plants around the Mall that looked nice. I had to lay down on the ground to get this angle and tried every which way but if that bus wasn't in the shot, then another one was. *Sigh* I gues that is my the pros take their snaps at the crack of dawn. The Bulb Library, which we profiled in our last Washington Gardener Enewsletter, had about half of the displays in bloom yesterday so I got many terrific shots of those. A few of the tulip varieties had already finished up and dropped their petals. I'll need to get back there in another 3 weeks or so to catch the rest of the varieties.I was down on the Mall for the SafeLawns.org launch of their public education program for, you guessed it, pesticide-free lawns. I'm generally not a turf lawn fan in any case, but if you have to have, of course organic is the way to go. The event was not a total waste of time for me got to see GardenRanter extradonaire Susan Harris and Viveka Neveln, The American Gardener magazine staffer along with Holly Shimizu of the US Botanic Garden and meet some of the expert speakers. I'll be using the notes from it for an article in the Examiner in a few weeks.
Speaking of the Examiner, here is a link to this week's Top 5 Home & Garden Events listing on page 27 of today's print edition.
There is new competition for the best in online gardening information. You can nominate your favorite online gardening destinations before April 15. There are categories for Best Design, Best Photography, and Garden Blog/Web site of the Year, among others. Please add http://www.washingtongardener.com/ in as your favorite in the Best Gardening Magazine Web Site.
I have an article on Container Gardening in the brand new April issue of Washington Woman which is free at Whole Foods, Giant, local libraries, and many other drop points around town. This issue's cover is gorgeous and I was very pleased with my article's layout treatment. Funny thing when you take a photo and then totally do not recognize it when you see it next to your piece. Or maybe this is just a sign of getting older? Anyway, they really brought out the colors well and made me want to grab some pots and stuff them full of colorful summer annuals now despite the frigid cold front that just hit the East Coast. (Don't forget to throw a frost blanket over those tender outdoor seedlings tonight!)
Changing the topic to paying the bills:
Washington Gardener Magazine now offers classified advertising space in the bimonthly print magazine that goes to garden lovers all over the DC region. For $100 you get up to 100 words to sell your garden-related items, announce your garden club events, advertise help wanted, send a special wish to your favorite gardener, etc.
These classified ads are text only. If you wish to have art or color, please refer to our media kit for display ad space rates and sizes.
Upcoming deadlines:
April 16 for May/June 2007 issue
June 15 for July/Aug 2007 issue
Contact editor@washingtongardener.com today to book your ad.
I have spent a number of years driving one of those "Damned Tour Buses" you complain about. I think that MotorCoach in the photo makes the photo (1) complete and (2) realistic.
ReplyDeleteI DON'T think that MotorCoach detracts from either (1) the Capital Dome in the background, (2) the beautiful flowers in the foreground, or (3) the overall "vision" of the city!
A link to your photo and your comments have been published on our Tour Bus Driver Group MSN Group Site, http://groups.msn.com/TourBusDrivers/_homepage.msnw.
You are welcome to visit and post your comments. I am the Moderator of that Group.
Thanks TR for a voice from the other side of the steering wheel Funny thing is, unlike a lot of DC area natives, I'm not anti-tourist and actually ride tour buses often when I travel. As a matter of fact, the magazine recently hosted a trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show and contracted with a local coach company to do so and will be doing soon again as we had a great experience.
ReplyDeleteOn the photo subject though, for a cover shot of our garden magazine we are always looking for one strong focal image. I often have to wait for a shot without people, cars, windblown trash, etc. to weed out any extraneous items. When blown up to 8.5x11, the bus would occupy about 4 inches of that prime print real estate and I think you'll agree in a magazine promoting the beauty of nature that just doesn't work. If this were for a daily newspaper say, I could see your point for 'realism,' but in our case, I'm sure you'll agree anything that pulls focus from the gorgeous blooms is a distraction.