Boyce Thompson Arboretum: a photographer’s paradise
***Sign up for the news letter below and receive a 15 percent off coupon for Sarah Marinos Tutorials!***
Boyce Thompson Arboretum, located 1 hour outside of Phoenix near Superior, Arizona is an photographer’s dream. This lesser known botanical garden is actually the largest and oldest botanical garden in Arizona and one of the largest botanical gardens west of the Mississippi.
A hummingbird captured with a shutter speed of 1/2500 at Boyce Thompson Arboretum
Background:
Founded by William Boyce Thompson in 1924, this botanical garden started as a “living museum” and a location for plant research. Inspired by human interaction with the natural world and specifically plants, William Boyce Thompson hoped this oasis would inspire nature lovers, students, and drive productive research. In 1976 the arboretum became a State Park, while also remaining a research facility and non-profit institution.
Another hummingbird at Boyce-Thompson: dont be afraid of cranking up that ISO to capture sharp photos!
Location:
Take US 60 east out of Phoenix and head towards Superior, Arizona. The drive in spring of ‘23 was particularly beautiful. As you climb in elevation the desert comes alive with blooming wildflowers of orange, yellow, blue, and white. As an added benefit, the nearly 2,000 feet in elevation gain results in a cooler temperatures than the city below.
Photography:
Nearly 400 acres can be explored through a winding 1.5 mile trail that takes you through a children's garden, greenhouses, herb gardens and even along a trickling stream. For photographers, this place can be overwhelming. While you can photograph the entire location in one day, I recommended focusing your efforts in a particular section. It can be difficult for the eye to adjust from the macro-lens landscape to the sweeping wide angle views of the distant Picketpost Mountain.
Focus on one particular aspect you want to photograph. Perhaps you want to try to capture the wildlife. For this I recommend sitting in one location and trying to let the wildlife come to you. For the above hummingbirds I sat in a particular location for over 30 minutes trying to capture just the right moment.
Or maybe you want to photograph the succulents and cacti. Be on the look out early on the trail, there is a greenhouse which offers some great still life photography opportunities.
In spring, around late March and early April is a great time to photograph the blooming cacti flowers and other blossoming plants. Keep an eye on the conditions leading up to March, in the spring of 2023 we had a super bloom as a result of a particularly rainy winter.
If you are interested in Macro photography, this arboretum makes for an excellent place to practice.
TIPS FOR MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY:
Don’t be afraid to crank up your ISO if you are shooting handheld. a tripod is helpful, but in a dynamic environment like a state park, sometimes shooting handheld is more efficient.
a. consider purchasing topaz labs or another de-noise/sharpening software. It can save even the highest noise images.
Macro photography has the tiniest of focus planes. If you are using autofocus, make sure you are in continuous autofocus, not a single shot focus. I recommend using manual focus and unlike most landscape photography, do not spin your focus ring. Instead, set your focus and rock gently back and forth while looking through your view finder until your subject is in focus.
a. For a deeper plane of focus, consider “focus stacking.” This technique will require a tripod and some Jedi photoshop skills, but there are plenty of tutorials on the internet to help hone this skill.
TIPS FOR BLACK & WHITE:
Black and white photography, especially in a botanical garden, can really allow a photographer to hone their artistic style. Dont be afraid to play around with deep blacks and bright whites in Lightroom. Sarah Marino, Bruce Perry and Jack Curran are all great examples (and offer many tutorials!) of how to turn your black and white photography in to “fine art.”
For me, black and white photography in a botanical garden is all about the patterns. Look for close ups of of leaves, high contrast areas on plants or flowers. Sometimes I will shoot in black and white (if you shoot in raw, dont worry, the color data is still there!) to help see what my final images may look like.
Finally, remember black and white conversion tools in most software offers specific colors you can change the luminance values of. A dark green leaf with stark lines and contrast is easy to manipulate in to the fine art photo, as shown below.
This fine art processing, achieved in Lightroom only, used black and white filters to deepen the dark greens while bringing out the lighter stems. Taken by Joshua Raines Photography
Combining macro with black and white can help shower the finer details and patterns of succulents. Taken by Joshua Raines Photography
Tips for flower photography:
Are tips needed for photographing beautiful flowers? Remember, pixels are free, go crazy and document natures beauty!
Sign up below to receive a 15 percent off, site wide, on Sarah Marinos webpage!