Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Design Award Entry

 The checklist--done and done!

This week I worked on our submission for the 2010 APLD International Landscape Design Awards. What I learned from submitting our entry is the need for before and after photos. And, not just any photos, which would be useful, but excellent photos. I culled through hundreds, if not thousands, of photos on our server to find a few good examples worthy of a design award, and it was really difficult. We didn't have many taken from the same view points to show the landscape's transformation over time. The photos we did have were either out of focus, washed out, too dark, or taken when the garden was not its showiest. So, the lessons learned here were:
  • Organize photos in a more user friendly and efficient way that allows the viewer to more easily search for what they're looking for.
  • Keep a mental note of where "before" photos were taken in the landscape, and then take "after" photos from the  same locations. Or, better yet, make a photo file of those angles! 
  • Take pictures when you first get to a site. Don't wait until after you've worked in the sun all day and are sweaty and tired to take all your photos. You'll probably forget the angles you originally wanted to shoot from, and the afternoon light will probably wash out what you're trying to shoot, assuming it's the height of summer and the sun is still blazing at 5 pm.

    Monday, January 11, 2010

    MIA

    Oh, wow. It's been almost two months since my last post. Yikes. Needless to say, things got a little busy for me. I was working on a couple designs simultaneously for two clients while finishing my semester and starting a new job. So, that makes three jobs now! I'll explain those projects in my next post. But, in the meantime, here's what I've been doing over my school break:

    1.  I explored Olmsted and Vaux's masterpiece: Prospect Park in Brooklyn.
    New Yorkers sledding in Prospect Park

    Huge trees in Prospect Park

    2.  I ambled through Fort Tryon Park in Manhattan. 
    Serpentine stone wall 

    Stonework in the park

    Linden Terrace

     Snow covered yucca in the Heather Garden

    3.  I took the train to the Dia:Beacon. The art gallery sits on the banks of the Hudson River, sixty miles north of New York City
    Dia:Beacon, New York

    4.  I explored the Smithsonian grounds and museums in my hometown, DC. 
    Sculptural opening at the Smithsonian

    Snow in the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden, DC

    Huge pines on the Mall

    5.  I walked around historic Capitol Hill.
    Herb garden at the Shakespeare Library, DC