Shofuso Japanese House and Gardens

by hankinslawrenceimages | Feb 12, 2020 | Workshops

I’ve had a few questions about some of the lesser-known gardens we’ll be visiting during my Photographing the Gardens of Philadelphia workshop in May.  So I thought I’d share a bit about some of them here on my blog in the coming weeks.

Shofuso Japanese House and Gardens in an amazing peaceful oasis in the heart of Philadelphia’s West Fairmount Park   Occupying only 1.2 acres, the gardens include beautiful landscapes hillsides, a waterfall, a koi pond, a traditional Japanese house and a tea house and garden. The site has been the home to Japanese buildings and landscaping dating back to the 1876 Centennial Exposition. For many years, it was the home of a Japanese Buddhist Temple Gate brought to the United States for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exhibition. The house was built in Japan in 1953 when is was exhibited at Museum of Modern Art in New York. After the exhibition in New York, the house was moved to its current location.

In the spring, the gardens are filled with blossoming azaleas and dogwood. With any luck, they will be in bloom when we visit during the workshop.

Here are a few of my photographs from Shofuso Japanese House and Gardens to give you a sense of what we might see and photograph there in May

Shofuso Japanese Gardens, Philadelphia, PA © 2017 Patty Hankins

Kimono, Shofuso Japanese House, Philadelphia, PA © 2017 Patty Hankins

Shofuso Japanese Gardens, Philadelphia, PA © 2019 Patty Hankins

In the Shofuso Japanese Gardens © 2018 Patty Hankins

Shofuso Japanese Gardens, Philadelphia, PA © 2019 Patty Hankins

Dogwood & Azaleas at Shofuso Japanese Gardens © 2018 Patty Hankins

Umbrella, Shofuso Japanese House, Philadelphia, PA © 2017 Patty Hankins

Dogwood Reflections © 2017 Patty Hankins

Shofuso Japanese House and Gardens is just one of the gardens we’ll visit during my Photographing the Gardens of Philadelphia Workshop in May. For more information about the workshop, visit https://beautifulflowerpictures.com/store/photographing-the-gardens-of-philadelphia-workshop-may-3-9-2020/

I’d love to have you join me for a week of photographing some of the beautiful gardens in the Philadelphia area.

Do You Need Help Editing Your Photos? March 14, 2020

by hankinslawrenceimages | Feb 11, 2020 | Workshops

In January, we held our first Do You Need Help Editing Your Photos session. People seemed to find it really helpful. So we’re doing it again on March 14.

We know many photographers struggle with editing their photos. We have so many options for software – Lightroom, Photoshop, Topaz Studio, On1, Luminar and many others. And each one has incredible tools to help you edit.

But the problem is – unless you have a vision for what you want your final photo to look like, you can spend hours making adjustments and changes to your image and still not end up with a photograph you are happy with. 

Over the years, Bill and I have developed an approach to thinking about how to edit our photos and the general order in which we do things. And we’re happy to share it with you in case it will help you approach editing your photos. And the great thing is – this approach works with whatever software package you use for editing! 

So the details for the “Do You Need Help Editing Your Photos?” afternoon are

• Saturday March 14, 1 – 5 PM at our home in Bethesda
• 10 participants who bring one or two unedited and/or partially edited photo files on a USB drive
• Plan is we’ll talk a bit about how we approach editing and then show you how we would edit your photos using Lightroom, Photoshop and whatever else is on our computers in March.
• We’ll provide coffee and tea, and ask everyone to bring a treat to share.
• Other than that – there is no cost to attend.

If you’d like to join us on March 14, just drop me a note at Patty@Hankins.net. The first 10 people to respond will have a space at the event. I will create a waiting list if more than 10 people reply.  And if this one goes well, we’ll try to schedule similar events later in the year.