007 GGW – Professional garden photographers: Alan Detrick & Joe De Sciose

This week, Joe interviews professional photographers Alan Detrick on the release of his new book, Macro Photography for Gardeners and Nature Lovers and former Senior Staff Photographer for Southern Living Magazine, Joe De Sciose shares his views on how media looks at gardening. Both share why they think photography plays and important role in communicating the importance of gardening.

Show Notes, Episode 007

Introduction
Hi everybody, it’s Joe Lamp’l and welcome to Growing a Greener World. This is a show for people who love to garden and spend time outdoors, and who really care about environmental stewardship.

Well you don’t have to know anything about photography to appreciate the value of a great photo. Today we’ll talk with two of the best professional garden and nature photographers in the business. Alan Detrick is up first, to talk about his brand new book on macro photography, and to reassure us all that we don’t need an expensive camera to take great pictures.

Next, we’ll talk with former Southern Living Magazine Senior Staff Photographer Joe De Sciose. Joe’s recent lay off is becoming more common these days in businesses related to gardening and we’ll talk to Joe about that and more. We’ll also answer a listener’s question about alternatives to poinsettias for Christmas. If you have a question or comment, contact us anytime! Our phone line is always open. The number is 206.337.0375, or email us at heyjoe@joegardener.com…

Alan Detrick
Ask any avid gardener and chances are, they either love taking pictures too, or they at least have a deep appreciation for the beautiful images of a quality photograph. Today we talk about gardening with two world-class garden photographers. In a moment, we’ll meet with former Southern Living senior staff Photographer Joe De Scoise. With each edition, it’s estimated that 15 million people read the articles and view his images of beautiful gardens and special places.

But first we’ll talk with Alan Detrick. Alan is a professional photographer, whose 10,000 plus images of nature and gardens appear in media worldwide. He’s lectured and conducted photography workshops at some of the most prestigious locations in America. And in 2005, the Garden Writers Association named him a Fellow. And, he’s the author of a brand new book entitled; Macro Photography for Gardeners and Nature Lovers; The Essential Guide to Digital Techniques. I met up with Alan to discuss his new book and to get his unique insights into how photography provides such an important link to connecting people with gardening and nature. And that’s where we started our discussion…

Interview (not transcribed)

Alan Detrick is the author of Macro Photography for Gardeners and Nature Lovers and you can learn more about Alan and his work at alandetrick.com. And we have more information about Alan and his book, in the show notes. You can find that by visiting our website here.

New book: Macro Photography for Gardeners and Nature Lovers; The Essential Guide to Digital Techniques: Timber Press, Inc, 2008. $24.95
Website for Alan: www.alandetrick.com

About Alan Detrick:
Professional photographer and stock agency owner with wife Linda.
Over 10000 images published worldwide.
Lectured and taught photography workshops for American Horticultural Society, Garden Writers Association, Garden Club of America, Brookside Gardens, Chanticleer Gardens, Longwood Gardens, Mohonk Mountain House and New York Botanical Gardens among others.
Honored as Fellows of The Garden Writers Association.
Represented internationally by four stock agencies.

Joe De Scoise
Our next guest is Joe De Scoise. Until being caught up in a recent wave of layoffs at Southern Living Magazine, Joe was a Senior Staff Photographer using much of that time to focus his camera on gardens around the country. But like so many people lately, both within gardening and the media that covers it, Joe recently found himself without a job. We talked about that and why gardening in general, seems to be getting less coverage than ever across all forms of traditional media.

Interview (not transcribed)

Joe De Scoise is currently keeping busy as a freelance photographer in the Birmingham. Alabama area. You can reach Joe and see some of his incredible images by visiting his website at www.findinglight.com.
Website for Joe: www.findinglight.com and we have a link for Joe’s pictures of Maria’s Retreat in the show notes for this episode.

About Joe De Scoise:
From 2003 to 2008 I was a senior photographer at Southern Living Magazine shooting assignments for travel, features and gardens. I was responsible for producing high quality photography for a wide range of editorial subject matter. I am adept at fleshing out and interpreting the assignment requests from editors and producing photographic imagery that illustrates and supports the purpose of an article or story.

In addition to being extensively published in Southern Living my images have been seen worldwide in a variety of print and electronic media for editorial and advertising purposes. A photograph from my marching band series was published in the The New York Times Magazine Sunday, August 13th, 2000 in the “What They Were Thinking” photography feature. My photographs have appeared in several Storey Publishing gardening books and many Conde Nast, Hearst and Meredith magazines and books as well as in print media for the New York Botanical Garden and The Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

I was also the sole photographer for two recent books:
Garden Guide: New York City (The Little Bookroom, 2002)

The Flower Gardener’s Bible (Storey Books, 2003) Winner of the 2004 Garden Globe Award for Best Photography for a garden book by the Garden Writers Association .

Prior to moving to Alabama in 2003 I lived in New York City for 22 years where I worked in various aspects of the graphic arts industry as an account executive and as an independent contract photographer. I grew up in Denver, Colorado, surrounded by Life and Look magazines and hundreds of photography books and cameras. I am a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in history. I live and garden in Birmingham with my wife Gail.

Question from Kelley in SC: My roommate is allergic to poinsettias. What plant can we use as a great alternative?

Joe says: Great question Kelley and just in time for the holidays. Melanie Dabovich from the Associated Press recently submitted an article on this very subject. Ornamental Chile plants, with their vibrant colors and spicy edible peppers, are turning up the heat on traditional holiday plants in greenhouses and on nursery shelves all around the county.

Paul Bosland, professor of horticulture and director of the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University, breeds ornamental chilies with holiday-specific colors, including peppers that turn from orange to purple to black for Halloween, yellow to orange for Thanksgiving, and a red to white variety for Valentine’s Day.

Giving chile as a Christmas plant dates back to the 1800s because (the peppers) would have the red and green colors. The plants can be used in the same manner as traditional indoor holiday plants, either placed around the house or as a table centerpiece. After the holiday season, they can be planted outdoors in the spring.

So there you go Kelley. As long as your roommate isn’t allergic to ornamental pepper plants too, it’s the perfect solution. You can find a link to this entire article on the show notes. Just go to joegardener.com/podcast

Close
Well, that’s it for today. This show was produced by The joe gardener® Media Network. You can access the show notes from this episode as well as any previous shows on our website. You can also order a personally inscribed copy of my latest book, The Green Gardener’s Guide. And don’t forget to check out the blog; Compost Confidential. If you have a question or comment, call us anytime. That number is 206.337.0375 or send us an email to heyjoe@joegardener.com.

And until next time, consider this from Thomas Fuller: “Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there”.

Thanks for listening! This is Joe Lamp’l and I’ll see you back here next week for more Growing a Greener World.