September 2020 Bonsai Newsletter
It’s challenging times for bonsai enthusiasts everywhere in California due to the Covid-19 pandemic, widespread wildfires, and record-breaking heat waves. Still, in the interest of the Conejo Valley Bonsai Society’s future, and looking at the positive side, I am looking ahead to the rest of 2020 and the start of 2021.
October Newsletter Exhibition
Although our traditional October bonsai exhibition at Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks has been canceled for 2020 (see page 2), we will have a virtual show of member exhibition-ready trees in our October newsletter. With the recent hot weather, many trees have taken a beating, so carefully select one or two trees now and start grooming them as if they will be on dis-play the first weekend of next month.
When your trees are ready, take pictures of them. For this virtual exhibition, please pose each tree, on a bonsai stand if possible, against a plain, light colored background. A companion plant is not needed for this photo. (If you don’t have an appropriate stand, just put the bonsai on as attractive a surface as possible.)
Reminders:
- Keep the setting as free of clutter as possible—plain background and table or bench top
- Hold the camera with the lens aimed about 1/3 of the way up the trunk—do not shoot down from above
- Try to take the photos in diffused light—avoid shadows as much as possible
