I am, Caitlin Atkinson, a photographer of places, spaces and all things botanical. I grew up in Nevada County, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. A childhood spent amongst trees, mountains and rivers instilled a love of the natural world. Inspired by this kinship to place, my work seeks to connect viewers to the landscapes we as humans create, to communicate the horticultural, ecological, historical, and cultural meaning that binds these crafted spaces to our existence.
I conceived of and photographed the book Under Western Skies: Visionary Gardens from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast(Timber, 2021). I was the photographer for the books Dry Gardens: High Style for Low Water Gardens (Rizzoli 2018), Designing with Palms (Timber, 2018), Air Plants: The Curious World of Tillandsias (Timber, 2014). I was the author and photographer of Plant Craft: 30 Nature-Based Projects for Your Home (Timber, 2016) My photographs have appeared in Architectural Digest, Gardens Illustrated, Elle Decor, Dwell, Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes and Gardens and Sunset.
My work focuses on diverse forms of landscape architecture from urban parks, to playgrounds, to small family gardens. My role as a photographer is to look closely at and communicate where we are at in landscape architecture and gardening and where we are headed. When not photographing you can find me digging in my own patch of dirt, starting as many plants as I can from seed, finding inspiration on hikes, sitting in the fescue with bare feet, and listening to the frogs.