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I recently visited the gardens at Buckland Abbey. They are close to The Garden House, whose photos I shared with you last week (catch up here). The two have links – in 1305 the Bishop instructed the Abbot at Buckland Abbey to build a house for the parish priest of Buckland Monachorum (a nearby village). The garden at The Garden House is built around the remains of that house.
Buckland Abbey is a place that wears its history heavily. The gardens and buildings are entwined together, a natural process that has taken place over hundreds of years.
The property itself has an interesting history. It begun life as a Cistercian Abbey (founded in 1278) and was dissolved in 1539 under King Henry VIII. It was sold to a privateer and explorer called Sir Richard Granville the Elder who led many exploratory voyages to North America. He’s perhaps best known for being the commander of the fleet that set up the failed colony on Roanoke Island in present day North Carolina. Along with his son sir Roger (who died in 1545 while captaining the Tudor ship the Mary Rose) he converted the church into a country home, incorporating part of the church into the house’s design. His grandson sold it to Sir Francis Drake, its most famous owner, in 1581. The property passed to the National Trust (the body that looks after it now) in 1947.
I drove over Dartmoor to reach the Abbey. I spent the last part of the journey driving through thick fog and thin drizzle. The fog had lifted by the time I reached the Abbey. I wish it had lasted another hour, as I imagine the Abbey and its gardens look beautiful with the fog clinging to the surrounding hills. But more importantly, the sun stayed in, which meant I could make photos from any angle and explore the visual relationships between the beautiful gardens and the imposing buildings that tower over them.
I set myself the same brief as I did for The Garden House:
Photograph a garden that belongs to a historical home (or some other kind of old building). Include at least part of the building in the composition to give it a sense of time and place.
It was a specific brief with tight constraints, but creatively liberating. I knew what I wanted to achieve, and that I had only two or three hours to do it. The cloudy weather meant I could make photos from different angles without worrying about the direction of the light or hard shadows.
I also set myself constraints regarding equipment. I made these photos with just two lenses – 23mm and 35mm primes (on an APS-C camera). First I walked around the gardens with my 23mm lens. Then I switched lenses and walked around again with my 35mm lens.
This process works for me. I don’t switch between the two lenses as I go without good reason. I find that sticking to one lens helps me see how to use it better and look for compositions that suit its characteristics. With the 23mm lens that’s often complex, multi-layered compositions that combine planting and structure. With the 35mm lens, it’s tighter crops and simpler compositions, including some with wide apertures to blur the background.
Here are my favorite photos from the day. You can see more in the Case Study A Slice of History that comes with my new ebook 52 Flower, Garden & Nature Photography Assignments.
The Elizabethan gardens
Not a garden dating from Elizabethan times, but an Elizabethan style rose garden created in 2001, inspired by an 18th century engraving showing a garden next to the abbey.
The Cider House garden
The Cider House is an adjoining property that was privately owned up until a few years ago. It’s accessed through by a door set into the wall surrounding the Abbey. It sits between the Abbey and the surrounding hills, with a view back to the Abbey’s gray stone in one direction, and over to the hills on the other.
The kitchen gardens
The Abbey also has a large kitchen garden that’s still used to grow vegetables, fruit and heritage apple trees.
The herb garden
A small garden next to the 13th century stone barn.
Further reading: 52 Flower, Garden & Nature Photography Assignments
Hopefully these photos from my morning at Buckland Abbey show you how assignments are a great way to improve your photography. The important thing is to set yourself constraints – a brief that helps you get the most from your visit. It gives you focus, purpose and liberates your creativity.
That’s why I wrote my new book 52 Flower, Garden & Nature Photography Assignments. It has enough ideas and inspiration to keep you busy for a long time to come. Take advantage of the early bird special and buy it today for just $10. Click here for the details.
Just curious? Click here to download a free 20 page sample.
