Whenever I’m lost I return to nature. We sometimes forget that we come from the planet, and often overlook our uncanny resemblances to Mother Earth’s other children.

Returning to nature reminds me of that connectedness.

After a long day of chasing bees with a macro lens, I sat down for an afternoon of editing and a bowl of fruit: strawberries, figs, apricots, cantaloupe. That’s when I took the bite that changed everything- I bit into the core, exposing something I’d never considered before. I examined each fruit in awe, and the Forbidden Fruits emerged before my eyes.

The botanical definition of a fruit is a ripened ovary that contains the seeds. It is essentially a reproductive organ. It’s no surprise they’ve collected so many sensual connotations; from the moment Adam and Eve sunk their teeth into a juicy selection and suddenly realized they were naked.

I found what the tree of knowledge revealed that made them blush.

I cut my subjects in half. I cut them sideways, and long-ways.

I studied the seed, the skin, the juice and the stem. I found male and female.

I saw Adam and Eve, breaking the rules to indulge in the Garden.

I thought to link all these ideas; to bring together authentic shapes, colors and textures in an extreme close up journey to the fascinating, sensual mystery of the fruit- the forbidden side of the fruit. The side God warned us about. Or dared us to eat.

Now I can never look at fruit the same way again. And now, hopefully, neither can you.

Welcome to the Garden.