Bloedel Reserve Panoramas by Kim Bridges

Bloedel Reserve Panoramas Looking for the Forest Among the Trees

K. W. Bridges 2019

2019 ÂŠ K. W. Bridges www.kimbridges.com

This document is a member of a set of visualization studies on the Bloedel Reserve.

Preface It’s a classic problem: How do you see the forest for the trees? This is usually a metaphorical question. Here, we really mean that we want to see the trees. Bloedel Reserve is a tranquil enclave near Seattle on Bainbridge Island. Decades of effort and a large fortune were spent making this a special place. In the words of the founder, Prentice Bloedel, the design of the Reserve serves ... the primary purpose of providing others with the opportunity to enjoy plants both as arranged by man and as they arrange themselves; and for the purpose of providing people wandering about the Reserve a refreshing experience of nature and a broadening of their appreciation of their world.1 Capturing images of the Reserve is a challenge, especially when you’re trying to show arrangements of the vegetation. This requires a “forest view.” All too often we’re drawn to details; a brightly color flower or an interestingly shaped fern. Our photographs become “tree views.” Taking panoramic photos requires a conscious effort to snap a series of overlapping images. Further, post-processing is needed to blend the individual images into a large panoramic photo. This set of photos shows the potential of using a panoramic style to document the larger view of the Bloedel Reserve. The order of the panoramic photos generally follows the suggested walking route through the Reserve. This is not a complete photo-tour of the Reserve. There are many photo-worthy locations that are not included here.

Kreisman, Lawrence. 1988, The Bloedel Reserve: Gardens in the Forest. The Arbor Fund. p. 105.

Photo Information Photo location names come from the Bloedel Reserve map. A few of these names were slightly modified. All photos were taken on July 21, 2019. Cover: A tree stand just beyond the Trestle Bridge. 8 photos; 6,786 x 21,296 pixels. Vertical panoramas are particulary hard to handle. It is worth the effort. You need to take more photos than you expect. Pages 2-3: Sheep Meadow. 7 photos; 12,785 x 7,480 pixels. The early morning light, with the sun rising on the left, made the exposure difficult. This is a large expanse. It is likely the first environment youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll encounter in the Reserve. Expect to become calm here. Pages 4-5. Frank Buxton Bird Marsh. 5 photos; 10,689 x 7,935 pixels. The heavy shorline vegetation is great for the birds and it makes for a rich view. It does limit the extent of the panorama. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worry. There are many panorama-worthy views here. Pages 6-7: Frank Buxton Bird Marsh. 10 photos; 15,076 x 8,109 pixels. This photo location allowed a wider panorama. The deep contrast between the well-lit and shadow areas is a photographic challenge. It is easy to spend a lot of time here. Pages 8-9: Frank Buxton Meadow. 7 photos; 12,211 x 7,426 pixels. This is a good example of how the wide view of a panorama allows you to encompass an entire Reserve feature. Pages 10-11: Middle Pond and Residence. 5 photos; 9,474 x 7,416 pixels. Shooting from the trail limited the width of the panorama. However, the framing provided by the side vegetation was worth shooting with this this more limited view. Pages 12-13: Middle Pond. 11 photos; 14,850 x 8,066 pixels. This scene, looking to the side of the road, almost demands a panoramic view. The visual anchor of the shot is the willow on the opposite shore. Photos taken here are mostly limited to 36 this tree. Think broad.

Pages 14-15. Middle Pond. 9 photos; 13,675 x 8,242 pixels. This location is just a bit farther down the road. It’s easy to miss this shot as the Residence is quite near and this French-style structure grabs your attention. I was drawn to this view because it seemed to me to be what the Bloedels would often see as they walked out of their front door. This served as a reminder to turn around occassionally; you might see a better view. Pages 16-17: Grass slope on the ocean side of the Residence. 6 photos; 9,643 x 7,347 pixels. This area is usually photographed from the other end, up by the Residence. The view used here shows the density of the vegetation, including tall trees that flank the view from the Residence. Page 18: Forest near the Waterfall. 6 photos; 13,330 x 8,149 pixels. The density of the forest and the diversity of the species is seen in this view. Nearly the same view is shown on the next page. Page 19: Forest near the Waterfall. 4 photos; 7,504 x 13,330 pixels. Another hardto-handle vertical panorama. Notice how you see more of the tall-structure of the forest in this panorama, when compared to the previous page. There is a role for both orientations. Pages 20-21: Forest near the Waterfall. 6 photos; 9,439 x 8,119 pixels. Another view that shows the dense structure of the forest. The downed tree is left to decay. That’s part of the process at Bloedel Reserve. Nature is doing its thing. Pages 22-23: Himalayan Whitebark Birch Garden. 5 photos; 11,560 x 7,561 pixels. These striking trees, with the white bark, are a good contrast to the other trees in the Reserve. Think “contrast” when you walk through the Reserve. The changing nature of the environment was carefully planned. Pages 24-25: Swan Pond. 8 photos; 12,069 x 8,161 pixels. This is the view from the road. At the proper season, a Dawson Magnolia brightens this location with a full canopy of large pink flowers. Pages 26-27: Swan Pond. 7 photos; 12,928 x 8,115 pixels. This panorama was taken near the bench that was a favorite relaxation point for Mrs. Bloedel. The pair of

swans no long swims in the pond. The name persists and it prompts you to imagine the birds fitting into this scene. Pages 28-29: Japanese Garden East Entrance. 6 photos; 10,680 x 8,013 pixels. This is the end of the Orchid Trail. You get an abrupt transition into the Haag-inspired “rooms” at this point. The bright yellow Golden Locust tree is a visual magnet that draws you in through the gate. Pages 30-31: Moss Garden. 5 photos; 11,227 x 7,747 pixels. This forest was a special creation, inspired in part by moss-covered forests in Japan. Large tree stumps have been left, reminding the visitor that this area was harvested many years ago. Pages 32-33: Reflection Pool. 5 photos; 9,298 x 7,690 pixels. A favorite spot for the Bloedels. This formal structure, which is engineered to be self-filling, was an early element in the creation of the Reserve. Again, think “contrast.” Pages 34-35: Meadow near the Reserve entrance. 5 photos; 13,998 x 4,945 pixels. Seeing meadows in the Reserve is refreshing. The open spaces are a relief from the confinement you feel on the trails that pass under the towering canopies. You can also see the forest profile from these opening. This panorama would be improved if a second row of images was added so that the tops of the trees would be in the picture.

Technical Information All the photos were taken with a Sony A7R III camera with a Sony EF 24mm f/1.4 GM lens. The photography was done handheld. A series of overlapping photos was taken at each site. The photos were stored as raw images. Image sets were assembled from the raw photos using Kolor’s AutoPano Pro 4.4. Additional image processing was done in Photoshop. The Color EFEX filters in DxO’s Nik Collection were important tools in getting the basic image quality. Some additional touch-up was done using DxO’s Viveza. Image and text assembly was done in Adobe’s InDesign. Please Note It is possible to obtain similar panoramic photos using a smart-phone camera. The panoramic setting that is available in many camera apps creates generally smaller images (in terms of pixel dimension) than the images shown here. The alternative is to take a series of separate photos. Combine the set of pictures using post-processing software. This may be a better approach than using an app-based panorama. An advantage of taking separate photos and combining them with software is that you can do multi-row shots. This further expands the creativity you get when taking panoramic photos.

Shooting and Assembling a Panoramic Image The six images below were shot in portrait orientation. They were taken so there is overlap between adjacent photos. Each individual picture is 5,304 x 7,952 pixels. The amount of overlap shown here is more than is required to do the panorama assembly. About 25% overlap is generally adequate. The composite image on the top of the adjacent page has the second image highlighted. This is simply to show the general contribution of each image to the final panorama. The image assembly is automatic in the software. The final panorama, after slight cropping, is shown below the composite assemby view. The final size is 11,930 x 7,438 pixels. This gives a horizontal field of view of about 111 degrees. This is equivalent to using about a 12mm lens. The original photos were taken with a Sony A7R III with a 24 mm lens. Please note that you can take more photos to get a wider view. You can also take multiple rows of photos to expand the vertical range. The choices depend on the scene and your photographic objectives.