A life-long gardener, Saxon Holt spent his professional time as a commercial photographer until 1985 when he discovered the gardening market and could no longer stay indoors. He quickly developed a reputation as a photographer with a distinct vision and understanding of plants and landscapes.
His work has been featured in diverse publications from Architectural Digest and Pacific Horticulture Magazine, to Smithsonian and MoneyMagazine along with most major book publishers, as well as calendars, newspapers, and note cards. He licenses his garden photography stock photos at PhotoBotanic.com where he also teaches garden photography and contributes to a Learning Center on the art of garden photography.
His work and his own books increasingly focus on the relationship between gardens and the land, seeking a sustainable aesthetic that can enhance both gardener and the earth. In the seminal 2004 book Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates Saxon was determined “to change the aesthetic of what we expect to see in a garden photograph”. The book received awards from both The American Horticultural Society and The Garden Writers of America.
His recent books The American Meadow Garden with John Greenlee (Timber Press) and Hardy Succulents with Gwen Kelaidis (Storey Publishing) allowed him to explore gardens that have an authentic connection to place. Both of these collaborations with author and publisher have been recognized with Silver Medals for Outstanding Book by The Garden Writers of America.
Professionally, Saxon is a member of ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers), ASPP (American Society of Picture Professionals), is a Fellow of GWA (Garden Writers of America), and owns PhotoBotanic a garden photography resource and Learning Center.
He lives and gardens Northern California where he has found the climate for plants and adventuresome gardeners to be a constant source of inspiration, and is currently working on new ventures in multi-media and self publishing at PhotoBotanic.
Call: 1-415-898-8880. e-mail: Let’s talk gardening!
Artist Statement
I love plants and gardens and want others to have successes and appreciation learning from what I have seen.
Photography is a tool of expression. It can illustrate and reveal a photographer’s passion, but the camera ALWAYS lies. Indeed, that is the photographer’s job and intention – to force the viewer to see through the photographer’s eye. Any image we see anywhere has been edited and chosen to be shared. No matter how consciously the photographer decided to compose the image, or how much it may be cropped, edited, or manipulated, it is not the whole truth of any scene.
I see differently than you (or anyone else). My truth is my own. I take photographs to tell stories about what I see and try every day to find new ways to express what I see – and hope it intrigues you.
Follow along; let’s find new gardens and new ways to celebrate plants.
