Category: Up Close

A conversation with forms of disintegration

Billions of leaves now lie on my little parcel of the planet. Each whispers a different message about color, form, texture, pattern, volume, shape, and line. Each changes by the hour as they disintegrate; no longer able to fulfill their role in photosynthesis. How do I choose just one leaf to visually converse with? Does it matter which one? Probably not.

Sunday: I pick up three leaves. As I tilt and twist each one and observe the light shifting through the Visoflex (with the 65 mm  Elmar at full extension, plus two tubes) it becomes clear that one leaf has much more to say than the other two. So it does matter. I set up a minimal, miniature studio at “my place” on the kitchen table (just the little SD24 flash on a Nikon off-camera cable, and a white reflector). For the next couple hours that leaf and I enjoy a lovely visual conversation. Two thirds into this conversation Ann asks, “all that!? for one leaf?” I chuckle — and think to myself, “oh yes. This one seems to have a lot to say.” How do I explain these fascinating visual conversations to someone who has not experienced this process? Perhaps by quoting visual excerpts from our dialogue. Before continuing its journey toward becoming fertile dirt the leaf had this to say…

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Leica M8, Visoflex with 65 mm Elmar at full extension, plus two extension tubes

Dancing through time — Friday — flower appears.

ever fewer

ever smaller blooms,
now surrounded by fallen
leaves, dancing in the breeze

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As I look through the view finder I slowly fall in love with this tiny blossom, resting on the weathered cedar, in the shade of the porch; even though the light lacks quality. The afternoon sun requires redirecting. The closest useful tool sits six feet away; in the kitchen drawer. A sheet of aluminum foil allows me to bring the sunlight back into the scene. As I search for the composition the slight fall breeze continually moves the near weightless leaves around the subject — a delicate dance. New leaves appear on this dance floor. Others depart. The breeze on the foil also causes the light to dance about in endless variations. So too does the camera move; closer; further; lower; higher; searching for the rhythms. So which of these best captured my affection for the subject and the light? I still can’t decide.

Leica R8/DMR, 100 mm Apo-Macro-Elmarit

Friday’s Flower: a late bloomer

Step out on this brisk, chilly morning. Bare feet. Coffee in hand. The flower beds appear dry, wilted, gone to seed for next year’s birth. Scan the distant yard for any sign of wild flower color. See only the color of autumn leaves. Turn around to to head in and check the archives on the computer — then, right there climbing the porch, lo and behold the vine that refused to blossom all summer decided to bloom on this late date.

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P.S. I just want to say this about that.

M8, 65 mm Elmar on Visoflex III

Awakened by the light

Grinding coffee beans, barely awake;
I turn my head slightly left to look out the window,
and see one ivy leaf glowing; backlit by the morning sun.

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Always checking to see what the world may look like in black and white.

I’m often startled; especially when I discover my self in the mirror of my subjects.

M8, 65 Elmar on Visoflex

Fallen bloom

The morning of the anniversary of my birth I walked out onto the porch and noticed this tiny (30 mm) birthday cake.

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Leica R8/DMR, 15 mm Super Elmar

The shamrock dropped a bloom on the rotting cedar. It appeared as both a beautiful object and appropriate seasonal event. Attempting to capture, in a photograph, my thoughts and feelings upon encountering this tiny specimen proved elusive (as it so often does). The light changing by the minute. Which lens? How close? What’s the subject trying to say? Which point of view reveals the poem? Why can’t I find the message? These questions did not come consciously to mind; they rather occur non verbally while looking, focusing, moving, changing cameras and lenses, and points of view.

For me these transitional events, summer to fall, water becoming solid, aging, ice becoming liquid, hyper awareness of life in the process of change, hold magical potential; yet this idea seems difficult to express in a still photograph. 3 lenses, 2 cameras; and I don’t know if I’ve achieved anything near what I saw, thought or felt.

Leica M8, 65 mm Elmar on Visoflex

Leica R8/DMR, 100 mm Apo Macro Elmarit

Visitor at the front door

We couldn’t hear his knock. The crane fly simply clung to the window waiting for me to notice that he had interest in a portrait session. After a few shots I took the SD card to the computer to review the proofs. When I returned (for possible reshoots) the visitor had vanished; leaving no forwarding contact information. Wikipedia says, “…most crane fly species exist as adults only to mate and die.” Perhaps this one wanted to be remembered.

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Leica R8/DMR, 100 Apo Macro Elmarit