This is one of my favorite sites at the Huntington. I love rounding the corner as I am coming back from the the Chinese Garden and catching sight of Diana, the Huntress also known as Artemis. The first time I captured this silhouetted image was on a cloudy, drizzly day in April. It was a perfect day to visit the gardens, the roses were in the best bloom they had been in years, according to the head gardener during a lecture the previous evening. And indeed they were as beautiful and full as touted. But my real take away that day was this photo. What I remember most is rounding the corner to enter the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art when silhouetted against the darkened sky of a rainy afternoon, Diana, the Huntress presided over the portico. My breath was taken away. Inspiration leaped within.
Artemis full of determination and sure of herself. I began to ponder on her attributes:
Diana or Artemis symbolizes focus, determination, and persistence. Not
meeting a goal is not an option. Wishful thinking is for others. She represents pursuit of mastery and navigating the metaphorical wilderness. She is a trendsetter and a trailblazer. She protects others and is one with nature. In other words she is the badass modern woman that I aspire to be.
The image to the right, is not mine but it is the same type of image that I had been capturing for years. The full statue under the portico. The photo demonstrates that the statue is elegant and beautiful, but there is nothing to inspire. Faithfully, each and every trip to the Huntington, I would take a new photo hoping for a different result. But then on that April morning, a morning designed for reflection and contemplation, as I approached the statue, as I was returning to the rose gardens for one more stroll through, I knew that I had the image that I had been aspiring to see through my lens. There in lies the joy of photography.