Backgrounds and light

No blog last week?  Two words.  Jury duty.  This week, I was given the wonderful opportunity to photograph our friends' beautiful gardens.  More on that later, but the process brought me back to our vegetables, particularly a number of varieties of lettuce.  The colors and veins spreading from the main ribs across the leaves like arroyos across the land always lead to my camera.

What would be the best background to capture the intricate structure?  Is the "front" or the "back" of the leaf more interesting or is each simply different?  

I began with a linen background thinking it would give more of a "botanical print" look.  Lighting was furnished by nature from the southern exposure as well as a fill disc to bounce light on to the top of the leaf. 

Then, I held up a leaf to the sky, with white clouds.  This might work!

More back lighting reveals structure

The subjects then became lunch!

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

 

August recess

President Obama is on holiday this week at Martha's Vineyard, members of Congress are on their August recess, and many are headed to the mountains or beach.  But some students are already preparing for the school year, and the plant world takes no holiday.  Some plants are just now joining the color parade.  Sunflowers line the highways, along with skyrocket gilia and assorted penstemons, and gaillardia.  Everyone who is growing greens and lettuce knows that this is their season in the high country.

So kudos this week to the miracle of nature and the edibles that seemingly pop out of the ground to nourish us and add beauty to the world.

Flashy trout's back lettuce

Sunflower

Basil

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image