Olbrich Botanical Gardens is a wonderful place to stroll by yourself or with family and friends. It’s enjoyable almost anytime of the year. Until recently, however, I’ve never been there at night. After all, it’s rather difficult to appreciate the beautiful gardens if you can’t see them. Until the end of October this will not be a problem. Olbrich is currently home to Gleam, which, according to their website, is “a cutting-edge exhibition featuring site-specific art and light installations in the outdoor gardens. Local artists and professional lighting designers [have collaborated] to create sculptural art, featuring light as a major component in each installation.”
Last week my wife and I went with friends to see this exhibit. To control the experience you’re given a time to enter and visitors follow a specified path. Laser lights and flood lights are used to help light the path. At various points along the way works of art have been set up in the gardens. They’re lit up in many different ways and the combination of the art work and the lighting design work together to give the desired effect.
I wasn’t originally going to bring my camera gear along. To do this show justice I would have to bring a tripod and take more time than usual for each shot. That type of activity doesn’t go well during an evening with friends. Being almost incapable of leaving the house without a camera I decided to take my old point-and-shoot, a Canon PowerShot S95. All of the photos above were taken hand-held at an ISO of 800. Some are fairly sharp, some are accidentally blurry, and some are intentionally blurry as I moved the camera around during long exposures.
This show only runs until October 30 so, if you’re interested, hurry down to Olbrich at night and enjoy the gardens.