The Wild Flora Farm
It had been a scrambled day, my RV was getting worked on and I had to vacate it for the next two days with about 15 minutes of notice. I’d grabbed as much as I could think of that I would need plus Hops and all his stuff (the dogs were at the kennel while the RV was getting worked on). Before the shoot I had been working at the park trying to get some work done with Hops parked in his little backpack next to me - trying to catch a breeze in the shade while the hot weather sapped out my energy.
It was a strange day. I was afraid my flustered-ness was going to spill over into the shoot. But as I pulled into the driveway of Kraay’s Market Garden, it melted away. I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Maddie greeted me with the widest of smiles, I explained that I had my cat with me (which we laughed over the silliness of it all) and that I’d need to find a good shady spot for him. We got Hops all set up, then Maddie took me on a tour of the farm. I was floored. The colors, the smells, the way the sun hit the greenhouses and lit them up with golden rich humidity. It was beautiful and everything I had imagined it’d be.
My original intent had been to use my macro lens to photograph all the flowers - but as life tends to go, the weather had other plans. The wind was so breezy that after an initial first attempt, I tossed aside that plan and decided to enjoy taking photos of what it felt like to be there on the farm - along with trying to capture Maddie’s incredibly welcoming, kind, and upbeat attitude.
I’ve never been on a shoot that felt quite so natural and easy - perhaps it’s because it was one that I had seeked out on my own, but I think it was really Maddie. Her passion for flowers, her business, and her appreciation towards Kraay’s was infectious. Chatting came easily. I was able to shoot photos naturally - no posing, nothing contrived. Just Maddie moving through her flowers - picking stems and talking about Harry Potter. I had the best time!
I feel like the grand finale of the shoot came in the golden sunset across the Bellevue Triangle. There is something so special about how it falls across the willows, the rows of flowers, the tall grasses moving around in the gusts of warm air.
Below are a few more of my other favorite shots - big thanks to Maddie for having me out for a short-notice shoot AND for the beautiful bouquets she created for me to take home :)
