Sunken Gardens Redux Again

Southeastern Nebraska’s Spring is reportedly cavorting on a beach in Cancún. If you see her, tell her to come home.

At the end of this story is a bloomin’ pitcher from roughly the same spot. — All photos herein ©Charles G. Haacker, Author.

We can’t complain. Many places are wondering where their spring is, far worse than what we’ve got. Still, the temps dip below freezing every night; the predicted highs never even get close, whine and grump.

Yesterday it hit 50-something (10℃) while I was at a doctor’s appointment (where else?), but I’d stuck my camera go-bag in the back seat just in case. Our foliage is being hypercautious (this being Nebraska, y’know, the wait-five-minutes-state), but I meandered over to one of my fave places, the little Sunken Garden. When the place is in bloom I’m here often, but I wanted to see what I could make of the place still wriggling with anticipation. Um, it — not me. I, ah, don’t wriggle.

The pictures were made in raw with my fave Sony A6400 APS-C and my also-fave Sony/ZEISS Vario-Tessar 16–70mm f/4.0. I find the little 4X zoom versatile, a light, inconspicuous, non-threatening powerhouse of a walking-around lens. Sometimes, if just out for no reason, that combo is what I take, with a 10mm extension tube for faux macro and a spare charged battery.

This tangle of bare branches at the entrance attracted me, at least in part because of the brightly backlit pampas grass in the distance.

I made a second shot refocusing on the pampas grass. I’ve often written about autofocus's failures; this is a good example. My Sonys can autofocus down to a tiny spot, but shooting through a barrier like this would be frustrating, even impossible to achieve focus automatically. The Real Simple Solution was to switch to manual focus. Mirrorless cameras are in live view all the time. My cameras have two focus magnifiers that kick in and make it fast and easy to focus crisply on anything. I use autofocus 90% of the time, but I’m glad I am not stuck with it.

I really liked that backlit pampas grass. I was mildly miffed that my reach was only 70mm (105mm equivalent). It’s forbidden to walk into the beds. I did have a longer lens with me but decided to be disciplined for a change and work with only the 16–70. I’m not displeased with these outcomes.

If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough. — Bob Capa

I started to walk on, but I always try to remember to look back. Again, that mass of bare branches called to me, and from this new angle, I noticed a blue spruce being quietly blue in their background.

Obviously, I really, really like that pampas grass. And backlight. “There is no light like backlight.” — Charles Haacker. (You may quote me.)

People come to the Sunken Gardens all year round to stroll. It is restful, quiet, and peaceful. There is heavy traffic on three sides, but you never hear it because you’re in a bowl. The traffic noise goes over your head.

I call these The Terraces. I don’t know if the name is official, but it’s pretty plain what these are. Stairs lead to the upper levels, with a long ramp for the disabled. At the end of this story, I’ve added a picture made from about this angle in August 2022.

Whoa! What’s this?! Green?! Incipient daffodils bravely poking up despite freezing overnights. These hardy perennials are unfazed by cold, often seen blasting through a layer of fresh snow, but do not do well in tropical climates. I must try to come back in a week when they should be in bloom.

I couldn’t make up my mind. I wanted to use the sharply curving path as a leading line. I think the one closer to the statue is better.

Koi Polloi

I don’t have a CPL (circular polarizer), but I should get one for pictures like this. The Garden has two koi ponds, and the water this early is kinda gross. I used a lot of dehaze in post to kinda sorta mimic the effect of a polarizer. The problem is I don’t think I have two lenses with the same filter thread. Adapters would work, but they would also disallow the lens hoods' use. Grumble grumble grumble…

I love these paving blocks, especially in low crossing light. I almost always make at least one exposure of them on every visit. I thought I’d try angling them, and including the painted white line athwart the line of march of the bricks. That’s me trying to be creative.

Here again, is my picture of the March barren terraces. Scroll down to see this scene in full-bloom high summer.

March 20, 2023 — Vernal Equinox. Spring? Anybody seen Spring? Hello?

August 30, 2022, 0741 hours Central Daylight Time.

All that rich loam is under there somewhere.

📸As always, thanks for looking in. I sincerely appreciate it! 😊👍

For reference, here are the unprocessed raw captures: