Michelle Blancke’s vivid 'Secret Garden' series comprises a total of five sub-categories: realm, ascent, essence, veins, and origin. Capturing the waxy surface of a detailed, veined leaf or the way vines create shadowy veils over gnarled trees, she’s interested in the relationships among transformation, mysticism, and the seen and the unseen. Check out her best shots of forests!
Michelle Blancke’s Forest Portraits Show the Mystical Life of the Natural World
Michelle Blancke is a visual artist whose work uses photography to examine perception, inner states, and the natural world. Her images often focus on forests and trees, using them as environments where psychological and physical space overlap. Blancke’s practice is grounded in the idea that reality is shaped by the mind.
She shares:
“I’ve always been fascinated by the idea that our perceived reality is shaped by our minds and reflects our inner world."
Her photographs of trees, glens, and foliage create scenes that feel familiar yet slightly altered, evoking themes of interdependence, consciousness, and concealment. She describes entering woodland as stepping into 'a parallel space where something hidden becomes perceptible'.
The Process of Photographing Natural Marvels
Much of Michelle's process begins with sustained walking. She spends long periods moving through forested areas, paying attention to small changes in light, density, and atmosphere until something aligns with her internal response. She describes these moments as cues, noting that her photographs are guided by the sensations that arise in those spaces rather than merely documenting the literal scene.
In the digital stage, her decisions become more deliberate. This is where she shapes the image to match the impression that first caught her attention. She often shifts tones, colors, and tonal relationships, not entirely to invent something new, but to bring forward what she senses while standing in the environment.
She says:
“The colors are a way of revealing an inner layer that already felt present."
For her, these adjustments are part of translating the felt atmosphere of a place and an effort to make a subtle, often invisible mood perceptible on the surface of the image.
More About the Artist
Blancke’s work is on view through January 25th, 2026, as part of the 2025 Aesthetica Art Prize exhibition at York Art Gallery, where her images appear alongside international artists exploring contemporary approaches to photography and visual storytelling. She also collaborates closely with BBA Gallery, which has supported the development of her practice over the past few years. Beyond her photographic projects, Michelle is known for her ongoing research into ecological psychology and the emotional impact of natural environments, an interest that continually shapes the tone and direction of her images.
You can check out the complete photographic portfolio on Michelle Blancke's Instagram.
Photos: @michelleblancke.
