about me
I live in San Diego, California where gardening is a year-round opportunity. When I’m not playing in the garden or working at the computer or doing the day job thing I try to squeeze in doing art. Most of it’s photo-based work or outright photography. In what I do I spend a lot of time looking at and thinking about the landscape and our place in it.
Click here to see my portfolio.
Some favorite artists and photographers, depending on my mood:
- Robert Irwin
- Mark Rothko
- Harry Callahan
- Edward Weston
Some of my favorite places:
- the desert Southwest in general; some favorite spots:
- Chaco Canyon
- Chiricahua Mountains
- Muley Point
- Goosenecks of the San Juan River
- Yosemite
- the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains
- the California desert
Some of my favorite plants, depending on my mood:
- orchids
- Rosa chinensis viridiflora
- Stapelia gigantea
- offbeat bulbs
- salvias
- aloes
- Hedychium gardnerianum
November 24 2007 09:13 pm
Greg on 08 Dec 2008 at 5:59 pm #
I just heard about the jet crash, but not many details. How far away from you was this? Are you okay…? Oh, I do hope so…be safe.
lostlandscape on 08 Dec 2008 at 8:13 pm #
Greg, thanks for your concern. I’m okay. It was about 2 miles from work. Within minutes everyone was talking about it and had the news feed on their computers. It was pretty tragic, all right. Not quite in the back yard, but close enough. The jet missed a high school by just a few houses, so it definitely could have been way worse—but how do you tell that to the guy who lost most of his family while he was at work?
The price of life near the runway, I guess. But there’s stuff flying everywhere you look. You just trust that what’s up there will stay there.
Ruth on 10 Mar 2009 at 4:13 am #
I’m so pleased to have found your interesting site.
I was wondering what equipment you use to photograph garden plants. What could you recommend for close up photography of plants?
Being Australian I was delighted to see your segment on Eucalypts. My state of Victoria recently had some devastating bushfires which burnt through thousands of acres of natural eucalypt forests. Loss of human life and wild life has been distressing. We have had drought conditions for 10-12 years. In Melbourne we can water our gardens twice a week for 2 hours at a time. I think San Diego is warmer than Melbourne…we can grow apricots and apples! I’m looking forward to exploring your site further, thanks again.
lostlandscape on 10 Mar 2009 at 6:59 am #
Hi Ruth,
Glad you found me a hemisphere away and stopped by! News of your fires have certainly been in our press, and I think all of us in similar flammable situations can commiserate with the events in Victoria.
I was planning to do a series of posts someday soon on garden photography, including equipment to use. But until I organize my thoughts better, I can tell you that I use a Canon Rebel XTI for almost all the garden images that appear in my blog. This is a 10.1 megapixel digital single lens reflex, meaning that you see through the viewfinder what will register on the memory card. The camera has interchangeable lenses, though quite frankly on almost all occasions I use the stock, inexpensive 18-55mm zoom that comes with the basic kit. This lens can focus quite close. The few images I’ve shown with extreme closeups were done with a dedicated 100mm macro lens. I hope that helps, and feel free to ask me any further questions you might have.
Alice Joyce on 27 Apr 2009 at 4:05 pm #
Hello James,
I tried to add you to my technorati favorites, but no luck.
Do you know what I need to do to pull up your blog there? Does it need to be your exact blog address?
Also, can I read/include your blog in my google reader?
Or is it not compatible?
Thanks,
Alice
lostlandscape on 27 Apr 2009 at 6:42 pm #
Hi Alice, I added the Add to Technorati button to my sidebar though I did have the plain text link to them on my blog links. Let me know if you try again and can’t make them work—that’s always good to know so that I can see if there’s something else I need to look into. (I was able to both add my blog and yours to my Technorati favorites.) I also activated Technorati on my bookmark widget that allows users to bookmark individual posts.
Elizabeth on 22 Jun 2009 at 2:03 pm #
Hi there. I work for the San Diego River Park Foundation. We are a non-profit group working to preserve land in the river’s headwaters (as well as create a river-long park system). I just love your photo from April ‘09 “Englemann Oak at Santa Ysabel Preserve”, it is so beautiful and captures that area so wonderfully! Would it be alright with you if we used the photo in one of our educational brochures I am working on? We would really appreciate it!
Thanks much,
Elizabeth
lostlandscape on 22 Jun 2009 at 7:12 pm #
Elizabeth, I’d be honored. I’ve dropped you a note at your email.
The Galloping Gardener on 25 Jun 2009 at 11:54 pm #
This is a great website and I’d like to know more about gardens in San Diego area - see you’ve just signed up to follow my blog, but would be really grateful if you’d email me (details on my info page) so that I can get in touch. Thanks
crix on 21 Jul 2009 at 1:05 am #
Hi! I just found this blog and I love it. If you don’t mind I’ll follow it
Big hug
Faye on 14 Aug 2009 at 1:24 am #
Hi, Just stumbled on your blog while researching Antonio Gaudi. Being an Artist and Landscape Gardener, you’ve inspired me to start blogging as I love how you’ve put your passions together on yours. It all feels so familiar to me. My environment is very unique to Australia as it’s subtropical rainforest. Living in a high conservation area surrounded by 3 national parks on a 37 acre plot you can be sure that I’ve been busy in the garden. An interesting element to gardening here is that you can grow anything almost anytime of year. So the scope is enormous. One percent of the Australian continent is made up of rainforest. We are the wettest part of a dry continent. The area was formed by ancient volcanos and is in the northern part NSW. near Byron Bay. Just wanted to thank you for inspiring me.
All the best,
Faye
lostlandscape on 14 Aug 2009 at 5:46 am #
Faye,
Your surroundings sound stunning! I’d be thrilled to have 37 acres to plant almost anywhere on earth, and your location sounds like it’d be an especially rewarding one to work with. My own climate lets me grow a wide palette of plants, though many require doses of additional water. Still, I end up coveting a number of plants that have no chance of succeeding here. Please let me know more about your blog once you get it going. I’d love to follow the progress of your landscape.
Jeff on 27 Oct 2009 at 8:38 pm #
I agree with you choice of Robert Irwin. His Process of Abstraction has helped me immensely in developing design concepts in landscape architecture. That process though can be applied to just about to anything.
Sandy Gillis on 09 Nov 2009 at 12:37 pm #
Fabulous blog. Thank you for being so generous with your eye, with color, with your love of plants and design. Very inspiring.
Larry Carpenter on 16 Feb 2010 at 7:44 pm #
Hi,
I love your site. I am writing to ask permission to use one of your photos in a free handout at a do-it-yourself, “Build a Bird and Butterfly Water Source surrounded by Native Plants…” type demonstration at a nursery in North San Diego County. I didn’t intend to post this to your blog, but don’t know how to e-mail you directly.
Your aster (lessingia filaginifolia californica) photos are great and would be helpful. If you prefer not allowing it, I understand and apologize for taking up blog space.
Thank you,
larryc