The first Saturday of May is one of my favorite days of the year... World Naked Gardening Day! I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I took the time to properly celebrate. I have helped spark the confidence of so many incredible women while photographing them in my boudoir studio and I gotta say... that confidence is catching. After spending so much time praising and showing women how deeply beautiful they are, you really begin to internalize that body-positivity! Not to mention that digging in the dirt while wearing nothing but a big ole hat is actually really fun. I know exactly why toddlers love it so much.

But as much fun as it is, nude-gardening is a rare occurrence. Before you know it, it's too damn hot and sticky for such things. Mid-Spring weather is my absolute favorite for working outside. We're in that perfect sweet spot right now... no need to turn on the heat or the AC. We keep our back door open and enjoy the fresh air flowing thru our home.  Everything is so vibrant and alive and blossoming like crazy. I'm spending my early evenings marveling over every inch of it and happily photographing all the beauty. 

My lovely little yard.

I've been taking macro shots of flowers and insects for years. Having a garden pretty much provides me with an endless supply of subjects. Taking these closeup shots requires a ton of patience but it so exciting to capture such tiny details. 

A honey bee drinking water and Osteospermum

Taking macro photographs of the natural world isn't all that different than the closeups I take of wedding rings. They are both incredibly technical and you have to get creative to get the perfect angle!

A pincushion flower blossom and wedding ring set on a protea (one of the best bouquet statement flowers, in my opinion).

While we grow a bunch vegetables too, flowers are so much more fun to photograph. I absolutely adore shooting wedding florals too. Usually my focus when photographing bouquets is capturing the entire arrangement, but I also love zeroing in on a statement flower in a bouquet and giving it a few frames to shine.

I've also had the chance to witness the lives of all the tiny little creatures in my yard. We grow a ton of milkweed for the monarch butterflies and watching their life-cycle is immensely enjoyable.

Milkweed- the sole source of food for the monarch caterpillar.

A monarch egg (about the size of a pencil tip) and a monarch caterpillar covered in raindrops.

A monarch chrysalis and freshly hatched monarch butterfly.

I keep my camera strapped to my body as I water and tend.... It puts me at such a great vantage point for being able to capture these little wonders. And I love that my hobby has given me so much time practice shooting extreme details. Every time I shoot a ring or bouquet I find a moment to be grateful for my garden.

Thank you, garden.