M A R K C I T R E T

San Francisco Botanical Garden

online exhibition summer 2024

The Botanical Garden had lurked in my mind for a long time, and I had always suspected that someday I would venture in to photograph.

What I look for when I’m photographing is something, anything, that reaches out and seems to speak directly to me. And what that voice is saying is “Hey you!, There’s a picture here.”

I am something of an addict of visual stimulation and have an endless fascination with the threads that are woven together to create the tapestry that surrounds us.

In the botanical world I find, for all practical purposes, an infinite source of that stimulation.

My camera is relatively large, mounted on a tripod, and I’m carrying a small backpack filled with lenses, extra film, and assorted other accessories. I’m seldom looking for anything in particular—I’m looking for whatever is looking for me.

My fascination with the plants begins with their physical beauty, which translates so well into my chosen language of the black and white photograph. But it has evolved into something far beyond that: an expanding reverence for the life force itself. Every feature of every species has evolved the way it has for a reason, and that alone is a cause for wonder, whether I make the photograph or not.