Flora & Fauna 4

Dying Chestnut tree leaves

The late afternoon sunlight just gone now and what’s left of the softness and overall paler light levels giving these two dying leaves a nice glow of light through them and on their curled edges, giving shape and texture, detail and a feel for the size and weight of these big leaves as they twist and curl and approach their dying time now.

Fern fronds reaching out

The under-canopy late afternoon sunlight still quite strong on these fern fronds. The light slightly harsh on top of them but against the darker background of the shadows there is nice architecture of overall shape and reach.

Mauve pink and white flower head.

This large flower head, just hanging down, in the middle of all sorts of stems and leaf-growth that seems to have noting to do with it, looks a bit lost. The beautiful colours of it stand out against the greens and strong sunlight all around it but I can’t help feeling it should be up higher somewhere, hanging in fee air and gracing us all with its’ majestic shapes and hues untethered.

Young leaves out of tree trunk

The sudden strong gusts in the air tugging at these small leaves starting to try and grow out of the small well of protection the bowl-shaped depression in their tree trunk gives them. What kind of big branch will they have developed into in fifty years or so from now ! This elderly tree has seen much and still gives out new life to benefit new generations of itself.

Small white petalled flowers on forest floor.

The under-canopy late light giving an evenness to these prolific little white flower heads against the greens and darks of the forest floor around them. Their pale corduroy coloured centres looking enticing with their texture and implied detail - a veritable feats for any and all passing insectlife ! The two very much thicker heavy stems behind them reminding us just how small these little white plants are.

White & Caramel hairy flower head 1

The hues and patina in this shot, in the very late afternoon pale light, remind me of some of the old masters’ paintings, Renoir, Titian, Velasquez, Rembrandt et al. There’s something of the same dark shadowed look of them, the implication of other detail not entirely visible, the juxtaposition of untypical colourings (in the small mauve buds on the bottom left of shot). The almost-disappeared light gives it that feel and , for once, there was no breeze and perfectly still air so these very movable heads could stay immobile long enough to shoot them crisply. (you can cut them off their stem and take them to a studio and try and light it ‘cleverly’ but it will never be the same nor as authentic as to find out how to shoot them in situ and anyway, why kill off something so beautiful ;’just’ for some apparent but definitely not essential so0called ‘Human need’)

Yellow ‘starfish’ flowers

The early evening light allowing the simple yellows of these uncomplicated looking flowers to be clearly seen and delineated. Their profusion, in areas under the canopy were they’ve taken off, is always one of rushing to get the best available light and they often seem to prefer shaded spots where their highly visible colours will attract the insect life they so depend on for regeneration. Clever plants.

White & Caramel hairy flower head 2

The hues and patina in this shot, in the very late afternoon pale light, remind me of some of the old masters’ paintings, Renoir, Titian, Velasquez, Rembrandt et al. There’s something of the same dark shadowed look of them, the implication of other detail not entirely visible, the juxtaposition of untypical colourings (in the small mauve bud on the mid left of shot). The almost-disappeared light gives it that feel and , for once, there was no breeze and perfectly still air so these very movable heads could stay immobile long enough to shoot them crisply. (you can cut them off their stem and take them to a studio and try and light it ‘cleverly’ but it will never be the same nor as authentic as to find out how to shoot them in situ and anyway, why kill off something so beautiful ;’just’ for some apparent but definitely not essential so0called ‘Human need’)

Green Chestnut Tree leaves yellowing

The soft light of the afternoon giving these changing chestnut tree leaves a gentle patina so that texture and detail, structure and the overall architecture of how the whole mix of branches and twigs supporting them all make it possible for each single leaf to have as good a chance as it can to access all the available light. The big branches in the background telling you how large this tree really is, above and beyond the parameters of this shot. These big leaves fall easily to the forest floor and all provide the necessary fertilization so the next generation get a good start.

White & caramel hairy flower head 3

These flower heads always remind me of small Pekinese type dogs. Their amazing profusion of off-white and caramel hues and wispy hairs just explode out of really small buds that seem way too small to contain what’s coming - and come they do! Unstoppably once their switch is thrown.

Profusion of mauve flowers

These energetic small plants power on apparently unendingly once spring starts to make it possible. The grasslands all around them become taken over by the march of their always-new growth. A beautiful rash of strong colour against all the greens around them. The bees love them and you can hear them in the air before rounding a corner and seeing the incessant movement of whatever a ‘tribe’ of bees at work is called.

New Trees growing out of old

These two brave stems, and the three leaves so far benefitting from them, just deciding to jut out from the lower edges of a tree-trunk and start their adventure, Who tells them to do that !? The soft late afternoon sunlight just coming through the leaves from the other side, showing off the young hues, texture and some detail, as these young leaves unfurl confidently into the air around them, absorbing carbon dioxide and pumping out oxygen for Humans to breathe.

Ivy and moss on tree trunk

In the cool of the evening light, this ivy doing its’ unrelenting thing and the dense soft green of the moss underneath it providing good moisture retention to help it on its’ inexorable climb upwards - eventually killing the tree in the process.

Grasses in still air.

The breeze-free air here allowing a look at these lovely grasses which move constantly in the lightest breath of air. The tiny stems that thrust out and upward so their seed heads can hang down and survive the weather is a lovely mixture of form and function at work, against the darker greens of the heavier plants behind them.

Moss on old branches

These massed branches of an old tree are almost entirely moss-covered rather than leaf-covered now. This is unattended land at the forest edge and the overgrowth of all the ‘hangers-on’, the rampant mosses, is the result. The white ‘dots’ all over the shot is the bright white sky in the background coming through the tree cover. A messy shot but I like the dark browns of the big brown branch at the back against the greens and the dark darks of the shadows.

Moss growths on branches

The tiny moss growths all over these brown twigs contrasts nicely with the big brown branches of the serious trees in the background at the forests’ edge and the very last of the days’ light washes it all with a softness and peacefulness you can feel as you allow it all to seep into you.

Pink & White flowers on green shrub

These small flower heads seem to have all given up and hang down limply but it’s just the way they grow. The mass of green leaves and strong stems supporting them all tell you this is a work in progress and all is going ahead as it should. Again, I like it against the darks of the background. Isolating and delineating focus points is the way to strengthen an image.

Pine Cones in situ

Extraordinary the things plants and nature produce. These large hard pine cones are some of them. The energetic tree producing them is full of vibrant green fleshy ‘leaves’ that almost sparkle with their energy in the soft pale afternoon light. Nothing accidental about any of it.

Fir Tree leaves

The vibrant greens of these evergreen leaves caught my attention against the darks of the background and those gorgeous browns of branch and twig. The big green leaves on the edge of the frame give it a nice edging too. Make a nice background for a desktop or similar.

White & Caramel hairy flower head 4

The hues and patina in this shot, in the very late afternoon pale light, remind me of some of the old masters’ paintings, Renoir, Titian, Velasquez, Rembrandt et al. There’s something of the same dark shadowed look of them, the implication of other detail not entirely visible, the juxtaposition of untypical colourings (in the small mauve buds round the lower half of the shot). The almost-disappeared light gives it that feel and , for once, there was no breeze and perfectly still air so these very movable heads could stay immobile long enough to shoot them crisply. (you can cut them off their stem and take them to a studio and try and light it ‘cleverly’ but it will never be the same nor as authentic as to find out how to shoot them in situ and anyway, why kill off something so beautiful ;’just’ for some apparent but definitely not essential so0called ‘Human need’)

White & Caramel hairy flower head 5

The hues and patina in this shot, in the very late afternoon pale light, remind me of some of the old masters’ paintings, Renoir, Titian, Velasquez, Rembrandt et al. There’s something of the same dark shadowed look of them, the implication of other detail not entirely visible, the juxtaposition of untypical colourings (in the two small mauve buds mid left of shot). The almost-disappeared light gives it that feel and , for once, there was no breeze and perfectly still air so these very movable heads could stay immobile long enough to shoot them crisply. (you can cut them off their stem and take them to a studio and try and light it ‘cleverly’ but it will never be the same nor as authentic as to find out how to shoot them in situ and anyway, why kill off something so beautiful ;’just’ for some apparent but definitely not essential so0called ‘Human need’)

Pink Flowers growing tall

Massed pink flower heads all blooming out of the strong green stems supporting them. The late afternoon light softening the look so texture and detail, structure and overall architecture of these tall vigorous plants is covered in a soft overall even light. Amazing they don’t all just buckle and fall over but they seem to have the inbuilt strength for their particular journey and here they are, proving it !

White fruits and pink flower heads

The late afternoon sunlight casting a pale golden glow across these 6 almost perfectly round white fruits of this unexpectedly beautiful ground covering shrub - the small pink flowers emerging, almost shyly, one after the other - the pods of them like some tiny perfectly formed upside down bell housing in a lab. The tiny fronds of the dandelion-type starfish seeds caught on the lower leaf giving some scale to the whole thing. Then single thin brown stem supporting the whole thing does not at first sight look strong enough to support all that weight above it, but it does. Being able to isolate a black background out of the shadow holes in the foliage behind it gives this shot a nice completion - to me anyway.

Hairy white seeds

These massed hairy white seeds, apparently trapped in the strong red stems of the tall plants that support them, seem like improbable candy-floss but that’s exactly how they look, and the endless dispersing of these uncountable seeds keeps blowing off and redistributing the chances of the next generations to grow, pretty much all of the time. A slow burn of potential being released each 24/7. In the process, when the light is not too strong, they can look graceful and awesome in the sheer magnitude of them all together like this.