When I began this project three years ago, little did I know what excitement and discovery awaited me. First of all, there was the pleasure of working after dark. The depth, colour and sensuality of the darkness enticed me. The tranquility and peacefulness of the night were restorative. As of this year, we have visited and worked in thirty five botanical gardens. Despite this number, my husband, the lighting master Roger Leeon and myself are still filled with anticipation and wonder as we enter each new place.
Each garden has its own character, atmosphere and spirit. Whether lit by moonlight, existing lighting in the garden or artistically enhanced by Roger’s magical flashlights, the plants and flowers never fail to astound us with their beauty, variety and spirit. The amazing thing about the night is that even the most ordinary plant is transformed into something mysterious and extraordinary.
These images are about a sense of place, metamorphosis and the splendours of nature. The night transports us deep into our memory and imagination and fills us with awe and wonder. I hope that these images take you to the special places I have had the privilege of visiting and fill you with amazement and excitement and a desire to spend a night in your garden, discovering your own magical “garden at night”.
Linda Rutenberg has been a photographer, author and educator for the last thirty years. Her most recent books are The Garden at Night, After Midnight Through the Seasons at the Montreal Botanical Gardens and her latest The English Garden at Night to be published in England 2009.
Her fine art work has been exhibited internationally, and can be found in many prestigious collections including the National Gallery of Canada, Agnes Etherington Collection, Standard Life, Banque Nationale Collection and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.
She has taught workshops and has organized photographic trips through Mexico, United States and Canada. She was the owner of Camera Lucida Image Centre. In 1997 she opened Galerie Mistral, a photography gallery. This year, Linda is giving lectures about her project and is teaching The Nocturnal Garden workshops around the world. Linda lives and works in Montreal.
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