Shutter Mike Photography

For those of you in the Phoenix area there is an exhibit of the photography of John Schaefer at the Desert Botanical Garden that is definitely worth seeing.  Although this spring’s wildflower crop does not appear to be as promising as last year, Schaefer’s photographs of desert cacti blooms in the A Desert Illuminated exhibit is a very close substitution.  His photographs have been compared to “…Renaissance- era illuminated manuscripts.”  The technique used for capturing the rich colors of these beautiful cacti flowers of the Arizona desert involves placing a piece of black construction paper behind them to isolate them from the background make them really pop.  The end result are some spectacular works of photographic art. The mesmerizing colors of the images and incredibly rich detail will keep you engaged with each photograph in the small exhibit of 30 images and is in and of itself worth a trip to the garden.

A bit about the photographer, John Schaefer is the President Emeritus of the University of Arizona; along with Ansel Adams, the co-founder of the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona; an author of several photographic technique books including The Ansel Adams Guide: Basic Techniques of Photography – Book 1 and The Ansel Adams Guide: Basic Techniques of Photography – Book 2 ; as well as the founder of the Nature Conservancy in Arizona.

A Desert Illuminated runs through May 27th in the Ottosen gallery at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.  It is open from 10 am – 5 pm 7 days a week and is included in the price of admission to the garden.