Thursday, February 28, 2008

Skeletonized leaf

Last year I found a perfectly skeletonized leaf but lost it before I could take pictures. I found this leaf a few weeks ago and even if it wasn't completely skeletal I made sure I didn't lose it again. It's quite interesting to see how intricately the veins are arrayed in a dendritic pattern. You can almost imagine it looking like cirliques. I wonder if that's the inspiration for some of the textile designs we see. Please click the photos to see an enlargement.




This first photo is taken under natural light. The light was so dim indoors that it was difficult to take a picture without blurring. The long exposures caused camera shake even if the camera has image stabilization and I braced my hands holding the camera. I should have used a tripod. The rest of the photos were taken using the camera's small flash with an index card used to attenuate the intensity of the light.





6 comments:

Jamie Boyle said...

That's a very neat picture. It's neat to see what really makes up the leaf. You can see every little vein.

I know last year my father used a leaf in a stepping stone and as it decomposed it left a fossil of the leaf imprint on the stepping stone itself. It was actually pretty neat what he did.

You have a great blog here and love all the photos you have taken. Your quite a photographer! Great work!

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
Hypertufa Gardener

Ki said...

Hi Jamie,
Thanks for the kind words. It's cool that your dad made an impression of the leaf. On my usual dog walk I see a leaf imprint in the concrete walk. I don't know if a leaf fell in the concrete or if someone purposely placed it there but it looks quite nice.

It is amazing to see the intricate network of veins that support a leaf. What looks plain and ordinary is actually quite complex and beautiful beneath the surface.

Thanks for your great comment.

A wildlife gardener said...

These beautiful photos remind me of a picture we have in our lounge. It is of a fish, called a lace fish. It was taken very deep underwater and the exquisite detail is matched by the beauty of those lacy leaves.

Ki said...

Hello Wildlife Gardner,
Those deep water fishes that live in the dark are quite fascinating. They are so delicate yet fierce in countenance. I tried googling lace fish but had no look in finding an image. I know some of the sea dragons have leaf-like appendages but not lacy like the leaf skeleton. The lace fish must be quite beautiful if it resembles the skeletonized leaf.

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

Great set of prints.......I like the natural light one the best.

Ki said...

Hi Iowa Gardening Woman. I agree the pictures taken with the flash are too harsh and unnatural looking. That's the problem with in camera flash. A bounce flash would have done a better job. Thanks for your comment.