Middleton Gardens, South Carolina

Middleton Gardens, South Carolina

Photograph by B. Anthony Stewart, National Geographic

This exquisite image was photographed long ago, on a glass plate negative, by B. Anthony Stewart. Perhaps that explains the delicate palette that makes this image so very beautiful. The colors in this photograph have captured the feeling of spring in the American Southeast as well as any image I have ever seen. —Annie Griffiths

Photo Tip: With all the exciting creative techniques made possible by digital technology, it is good to revisit old images and old techniques. It can remind us that subtlety can be far more beautiful than manipulated imagery.