Chasing the Dragon by William Corey

Garden Showcase - Gardens of Kyoto by William Corey

With the launch of our new website, we are very happy to welcome back William Corey who we previously featured for his outstanding gardens of Kyoto.

At this point in his career, he is considered the foremost western artist to photograph Japanese Gardens and the only western photographer ever invited to photograph the gardens of the Japanese Emperor. We hope to bring you these pictures shortly. For more information about Williams work, please visit www.williamcorey.com

The internet has offered photographer William Corey an incredible opportunity to "exhibit" his photographs throughout the world. People from more than 85 countries have visited his web site over the past three years to view and purchase prints. As his images have become accessible to a much wider audience he created a plan where one can purchase a beautiful Japanese garden image at a significant discount from his regular portfolio price. The following is an excerpt from Williams third book, CHASING THE DRAGON which talks about the making of this particular photograph.

I pick my way across stepping stones, into the midst of the garden, each step turning my attention to a continual series of sequential focal points that heighten the sense of space and arrival. Instead of following a straight axis, the path veers - first left to focus on the splendid cypress trees, then right to capture a glimpse of a rock grouping on the pond's shore. Irregular placement of the stepping stones force me to look down to watch my step; looking up, a new vista of the garden unfolds before me.

I reach the main building, slip off my shoes, and step up onto the veranda. What strikes me most, at once, is the transparent lack of space and at the same time how, astonishingly, it is translated into an inner imaginitive spaciousness. It makes me feel as though I am going on stage, but rather a puppet theater than a real stage.

Without shoes it is very quiet, walking on fresh tatami ( with a fragrance like that of a kind of rice tea ), under the low, bare wood ceiling. The walls of the room are only paper partitions, and on two sides the opaque paper forms large solid panels, filled with marvelous and mysterious paintings. On the other two partitions where the light enters, the paper is thin, supported by a grid of light wood that divides it into an infinity of small transparent squares.

I slide back the delicate frames to reveal the garden outside, bathed in the soft light. Standing on the threshold of this room, now open to the air, its name rings in my ears, "The Garden of Pure Presence."

Each month you can purchase the featured image as a 16 X 20 inch full color print for $125 rather than the regular portfolio price of $500. It is now possible for anyone to assemble a portfolio of fine art japanese garden prints at an affordable price.

We would encourage you to visit Williams main website where you can find out details of how to purchase some of this wonderful work.