Lavishly illustrated with Clive Nicols' own award-winning work, this is an inspirational book as well as a practical one. Aimed at the many photographers who find their greatest satisfaction in capturing the beauty of individual plants or their own or other people's gardens, the book provides expert advice on all aspects of the work - selective focus, the harmonious use of colour, light, coping with the weather, composition and a host of others. The subjects covered range from close ups of details such as bark or petals, to individual plant portraits and through to the composing of vistas that reveal the grandest of gardens in all its glory. Clive Nichols has photographed gardens in many different parts of the world and has practical advice to offer on travel and equipment for different locations and conditions, from frost and fog to tropical sunlight. There are also chapters on bringing a garden to life by including it's inhabitants, both people and birds and insects. Finally, there are step by step instructions on the post-capture phase in which digital technology can be used to sharpen, enhance, tone or otherwise perfect an image to achieve a finished picture that matches the vision in the photographer' mind at the instant the shutter was released.