By Stephen Voss
Stephen Voss is an accomplished professional photographer and member of the National Bonsai Foundation’s board of directors. His photographs are held in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
For many years, Stephen has honored an annual fall tradition of visiting the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum. He strolls the serene grounds, taking remarkable photos of trees in transition. Below, he shares reflections from his most recent visit in November 2024.
Each fall season at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum feels like an opportunity to learn something new about the colorful transition of vibrancy and change.
A wonderful Washington Post article outlined the life cycle of a leaf, and I was amazed to learn that as the leaves lose the chlorophyll that makes them green, they reveal their actual colors. That means that the fall colors we're now seeing have been there all along — waiting for this moment to set the museum alight.
The museum is never a static place, and on every visit I find a fascinating new discovery.
This time, I notice a sizable quince fruit hanging off a tree, and a beautiful selection of Chrysanthemums in the Vaughn Banting courtyard, outside of the exhibit space.
A profusion of tiny pollinators swirl around the garden mums along the Kato Family Stroll Garden, as small piles of leaves gather in the nooks and crannies of this peaceful place. The lack of rainfall this season has made for somewhat muted colors; there are more browns than oranges and reds, and we’ve had unusually warm days that maybe aren’t so unusual anymore.
For a long time, I came to the museum and went straight to the bonsai, drawn to their magnificence at the expense of the surrounding gardens. My photos for many years were close-up images, guided by minimalist tendencies. I still lean in that direction; but now, I’m also so taken by the interplay of the trees within the larger space, and how I might interpret these interactions visually. The whole of the museum contributes to the experience of visiting the trees.
Visitors pass through the exhibit space, murmuring questions about the trees and taking in their structural forms that are slowly revealed by the shedding of leaves. It occurs to me that not a day goes by at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum when someone visits who has never been there before.
As the seasons change, the Museum changes too — revealing another unique chapter in the story of this special place and these incredible trees.
All photos © 2024 Stephen Voss. (Thank you, Stephen!)
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