Sara Mendes

I trained as a botanist before I started guiding, so the university's garden is where I feel most at home on camera. I walk the terraces slowly, since they were laid out on a steep hillside and the plants change completely from one level to the next. From there I follow the river down to the park where students actually spend their afternoons, a contrast to the more formal garden above. I keep the phone steady on individual plants rather than sweeping across the whole garden, since a name and a detail matter more than scale. I answer questions about the collection honestly, including when a specimen's exact age is disputed.