02 July 2018
Lens:
Taken in Camera+ and edited in Snapseed and Pixlr.
Leaf Collage; All Rights Reserved 2018 Sally W. Donatello
Click onto image to enlarge. Let me know your response to this photomontage. Prints are available upon request.
Pens:
There’s little doubt that summer is about flowers and their evergreen effect upon our senses. And so recently while strolling through a local botanical garden, the morning light forced me to examine the way it brought many, many leaves to center stage. That stage brought my attention to their visual qualities, qualities that we usually do not notice in the summer.
Trees and other leaf-bearers are so enveloped by summery greenery that individual leaves get lost in the plethora. Usually we only notice their better sides in the autumn, a time when they shed their summer garb, and become the center of the season, coloring the landscape.
To see summer leaves with their finery is to appreciate what we miss with much of our attention focused on floral profusion. But as I ponder the role of a leaf in summer, their importance puts them along side the blossom. Each provides critical elements to the natural world and to the well-being of human nature.
Each leaf becomes central to photosynthesis, using chlorophyll that sustains food (energy) production and then produces oxygen that sustains us. They need to be put (year round) on a higher pedestal.
In the Lens section are a few images that demonstrate my point: a leaf’s ability to engage us, and at the same time play a vital role on Mother Earth.
To notice the unnoticed provides a treasure trove of discoveries. There is a level of seeing needed with a greater depth of perception, and a greater ability to observe the usually unseen or barely noticed. And I realize that there is a level of intimacy that drives my seeing.
The faces of a leaf or a flower or their undersides are on duty all the time, and noticing brings me closer to nature and its gifts. To frame each is to illuminate a minute, hour or day. To frame each is to bring sustenance to my spirit and soul,
Note:
“The truth demands our attention.” The New York Times, 17 June 2018, full-page advertisement.
“The truth has a voice.” The New York Times, 01 July 2018, full-page advertisement.
Lens and Pens by Sally 
Nice montage, Sally. I like your unique point of view. 🙂
Fran, lovely to hear from you. I appreciate your response.
Beautiful ode to the humble leaf in words and images Sally. Is it a Monstera?
Madhu, it’s an elephant leaf. Thanks for your comment.
I love this: “The faces of a leaf or a flower or their undersides are on duty all the time, and noticing brings me closer to nature and its gifts.” It’s how I feel to when I’m wandering in nature. The complexities are awe-inspiring.
We share that bond with Mother Nature. I appreciate your response.
We share that bond with Mother Nature. Thanks for you response.
I love that last photo, far right, that has a deeper green that seems to magnify the details of the leaf, revealing the depth of the inner beauty. Lovely photos to rest the eyes upon.
Angeline, you’ve touched my heartstrings. Thanks.
They could be valleys and mountains. You have captured the complexity of leaves with such artistry.
I’m humbled by your response. Thank you so much.
So true Sally. I was thinking just yesterday about the ability of the forest to lower temps for us with their shade on a very hot day. Something as omnipresent as leafy overhang is so often taken for granted!
Tina, hope that you are surviving the intense heat. Our heat index was 104 yesterday and close today. Thanks.
Your perspective definitely puts the beautiful green leaves on a higher pedestal, Sally. Great the choice of split leaves allowing patches of blue skies to cleave their way through them and negotiate a passage through their green territory. Brilliant collage work,fantastic detailed macros revealing the complex structure and texture of the leaves.
Doda, you always bring sunshine to my day. I appreciate your response.
Love the peep of blue and white sky. 🙂 🙂
Jo, thanks so much.
up close
& personal 🙂
Indeed, and that’s where a lot of the mystery is revealed.
I like the sky in the first photo and the color and detail of the leaf in the third photo. Displaying the photos side-by-side gives us a nice insight into your thought process as you worked with the subject.
Ω
Allan, I appreciate your response. Thanks so much.
Beautifully done, Sally! …play a vital role on Mother Earth, well said. 🙂
Amy, thanks so much.
I admire your ability to see and appreciate the details that many of us may miss. It was a pleasure reading this, Sally.
Lignum, thanks for a huge smile across my afternoon. I appreciate your comment.
You express this beautifully: “To notice the unnoticed provides a treasure trove of discoveries. There is a level of seeing needed with a greater depth of perception, and a greater ability to observe the usually unseen or barely noticed. And I realize that there is a level of intimacy that drives my seeing.” There is an intimacy in that type of seeing. Wonderful! I hadn’t thought about it that way before. And your photo montage is really enhanced by the juxtaposition of the sky. I like the feeling of “peaking” at the sky between the leaves. Are you using a macro lens attachment on your phone or just the phone itself?
Patti, I’m humbled. See you soon. I use my iPhone 6 and Camera+.