These recent photographs were taken in formal English
and Italian gardens. The shape and mystery of these places are a natural
draw for me as they offer glimpses of the rich traditions of garden making.
I am interested in garden history and historical concepts of paradise,
and aim for pictures that have a meditative quality to reflect the spiritual
urges that inspired the earliest gardens some six thousand years ago.
My images are not depictive. I use the land before me as a jumping off
point, implying light or shadow where perhaps there was none, as a way
to create my own path through the garden. In fact, by positioning the
lens, cropping my prints, and using burning and dodging to guide the viewer's
eye through a picture, I feel that I too am a gardener in a sense. I am
after that "slant of curious light" that is the genius of a
place.
— Beth Dow
Feature
In the Garden
Photographer Beth Dow aims for pictures that have “a meditative quality to reflect the spiritual urges that inspired the earliest gardens some six thousand years ago.” Her platinum prints make them feel even more wonderfully unreal and magical.
View Images
Feature
In the Garden
Photographer Beth Dow aims for pictures that have “a meditative quality to reflect the spiritual urges that inspired the earliest gardens some six thousand years ago.” Her platinum prints make them feel even more wonderfully unreal and magical.
In the Garden
Photographer Beth Dow aims for pictures that have “a meditative quality to reflect the spiritual urges that inspired the earliest gardens some six thousand years ago.” Her platinum prints make them feel even more wonderfully unreal and magical.

