Award Winning Photographer Saxon Holt

When you say photography and gardens the first person that should come to mind is Saxon Holt, a national award winning photographer.  With more than five books and tons of newspaper, magazine and other articles, Saxon is without a doubt a leader in his field.  He began his career as a commercial photographer who has had a life long passion for gardening.  Loving nature as he does he decided to combine his two passions and became a photographer of gardens, landscapes and the plants.  Click here to visit Saxon's website

Saxon will be presenting at the show some of his published works.  He will talk about getting to the essence of what a photograph can do and explain how and why the photograph was taken.  He will give specific tips on composition and what to look for when photographing your own garden.

Directly following his presentation there will be a hands-on mini-workshop called "Think Like a Camera" with Saxon Holt.  He will lead a small group of photographers in an after-hours tour of the Show gardens.  He will discuss the challenges of making a good garden photograph of specific gardens, then each photographer will have time to take their own pictures.  Saxon will offer hands-on help and do an optional follow-up critique on-line of 3 images.  This workshop is limited to 20, additional fee apply and requires pre-registeration.  Click here for information and to register. 

“His work and his own books increasingly focus on the relationship between gardens and the land, seeking a sustainable aesthetic that can enhance both gardener and the earth.  In the seminal 2004 book Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates Saxon was determined "to change the aesthetic of what we expect to see in a garden photograph". The book received awards from both The American Horticultural Society and The Garden Writers of America.”

His other award winning books include The American Meadow Garden, Hardy Succulents, Grasses, The Herbalist Garden, Small Patios and more.

As the Photography Program Director at the San Francisco Botanical Garden's, he is doing workshops and lectures on “Picture the Garden”.  He holds all day workshops at the Botanical Garden with photographers and architects teaching them “the visual element of design”.  They also hold seasonal photo contests.  The current contest is called “The Great Garden Winter Shootout”.  Don’t miss your chance to take a workshop with Saxon and enter the contest. 

He is a member of several photography and garden groups such as the Garden Writers of America, the American Society of Media Photographers, Stock Artists Alliance and more, but also finds time to blog on Gardening Gone Wild.  He has received awards from both The American Horticulture Society and The Garden Writers of America.  He is currently working on a new book with herbalist Tammi Hartung called 100 Herbs That Heal while he also holds different photography events.