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.