I was feeling pretty burned out one day, so I decided to treat myself (tickets are $25) to a photo day at Fioli, which is a historic mansion with gardens in Woodside, California (San Mateo County, one county south of San Francisco). I had long wanted to check the place out, and on that particular day, I thought that the gardens would perk me up, taking photos would relax me.
--except when I got there, much of what was in the gardens was pretty dead due to the extreme drought.
For a moment this was disappointing. Then I started seeing so much Gothic beauty in the dead stuff. A hint of autumn was on the air, so this was a great meditation on the seasons of life, death, and decay.
What was most entertaining, however, was how much I was clearly annoying the staff by taking photos of dead things. People pay $60,000 to hold weddings at this venue, so presumably I was perceived to be a serious PR risk.
Staff kept coming up to me in the gardens sternly reminding me, "We close at 5 o'clock."
Me: "Yes, I know. It's 3:59."
Staff: "Just a reminder, we close at 5:00."
Me: "Yes, thank you, it's 4:12."
And so on.
I mean really, don't people get really tired looking at pedestrian photos of pretty "perfect" roses? As someone looking towards the autumn of life, I insist that we change our perception that beauty only belongs to entities that are/who are in full bloom. ;)
Click on any image to enlarge. Images copyright Casondra Sobieralski 2022. Please ask permission for profit use, credit the photographer for non-commercial use.
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