I rarely take people pictures. It makes me feel sneaky (when I try to take pictures unobserved) or shy (when I’m spotted). I’d be hard pressed to estimate how long I’ve spent in gardens waiting for people to clear away from my shot and how often I’ve captured a random back or stray bottom by mistake when looking too excitedly at a flower to thoroughly check the periphery.
I remember pausing here to wait for a man with a child in a pushchair to clear from my shot of a pedestrian walkway. If I’d have clicked a little earlier, this would have been a better submission for this week’s challenge. Alas, we only have the patterns of light and shade to admire here, unless you can people the picture with one or more figures in your imagination. I’m sure some of my regular commenters could not just do that, but have 60 word stories invented about them within a minute or two!
The walkway is a thoughtful mix of form, function and reverie, just as a garden path should be. One detail which is easy to miss if you’re viewing this on a phone is that the slatted wall of the walkway has oval viewing points positioned along it. These frame different areas of the garden, creating vistas and vignettes as you stroll along.
Susan Rushton 
Nice lines, they take my eyes for a walk down the path. I hope you enjoyed the Missouri Botanical Garden. It’s one of my go to places for flowers, insects, and attempts at landscapes (the Japanese Garden area). We also like to take our grandsons there now that they have a really nice new childrens’ area.
We loved it. It must be wonderful to have it on your doorstep.
The curving path moves the eyes perfectly. Beautiful shot.
The bright, contrasty sunlight helped a lot.
First view of this photo on my screen was just the roof. What an interesting art photo, I thought. Then I scrolled down and saw the walkway. Such an inviting place to take a stroll.
Love it – thanks.
Very inviting – there’s no problem getting a good number of steps in at a place like that.
Beautiful lines and a very peaceful look. I tend to avoid photographing people, too
I did take a few shots of people who seemed to fit in well with the glasswork at Chihuly’s Garden and Glass in Seattle but I haven’t shared them, so far at least.
I like the curving path of light and shadows. We still have never been to MBG, even though it’s just a five hour drive. Have to remedy that soon.
You’ll really enjoy it. I’d have taken a lot more pictures if the sun had been a little less full on. The lilies were glorious when we were there – they seemed straight out of Alice Through The Looking Glass.
I think that is a beautiful walkway.
The shade was very welcome too on such a bright day.
There are people staring at you throuth the ovals 🙂 Beautiful capture
I thought as much. You seem to have jazzed up Oddment’s experience of the picture 🙂
Beautiful! I have tons of no-name people in my collection. They don’t know they are there, and I’m not telling. It’s a bit stickier with neighbors. I get their permission before publishing anything with them in it. Obviously, I don’t have your patience to wait for the perfect picture.
Your secret is safe with me!
Great patterns!
I suppose that’s what partial shade looks like!
This looks a delightful pathway, and it’s certainly an inviting image. I agree about the people thing. Other bloggers seem to have the knack of asking potential subjects if they’d mind being photographed. I just haven’t.
Often you don’t want a posed shot, either. A invisibility cloak would be useful – and a magical hover board to let us get closer to flowers without treading on a border!
I identify with your feelings about people pictures, however I have come to learn that most people are happy to appear. I usually ask, and if they are not, I delete them.
I really like some of your portraits.
Many thanks, Susan
“Form, function, and reverie”…..ahhhh….the essence of garden. I prefer this without people because then I can pretend I’m there by myself and it’s all mine to savor for the moment. No doubt revealing my basic misanthropic tendencies. This path is utterly peaceful for me: part geometry, part botany, all tranquility. Except for those people looking back at me through the ovals, thanks to Abrie Joubert. (I think the comments on some blogs are their own literary genre.)
It’s all yours (except for the ovals crowd). The comments do have a life of their own. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started blogging, but these days I have half a mind for the comments even as I’m writing.