35mm goodness from my sturdy Olympus OM-G. I only brought my f/1.8 lens for some reason, not my f/1.4 or a wide angle or even my shift lens, but I’m still pretty happy with how many of my frames from the trip turned out.

I still can’t believe it only cost $2.00 to go into the gardens. Montana doesn’t have the sort of season to encourage ferns, flowers, and lily pads everywhere, so I’ve never been anywhere like this. I wanted to settle down on one of the many benches and sketch and maybe sing to myself a little because it was the most calming place I’d been in a long, long time. There weren’t a lot of people and we had the gardens mostly to ourselves. The overcast day made parts seem eerily private and in this way perfect. I loved the curling edges of ferns and the twirling stems of so many different flowers.

I’ve got many more frames to share with you all but for now I think I’ll let these stand alone. Mother Nature has such beautiful creations.

I could have set up a tent in the bamboo forest and lived there happily ever after. Too bad we only spent a few hours there! It felt incredible to be surrounded by the hum of birds, bugs, and the sound of water while being visually enveloped with every color possible.