Marja-Leena Rathje
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leaf study

   
begonia_leaf.jpg

   

birchleaf_veins.jpg

   

TibouchinaLeaf.jpg

   

Delighting in the colours and patterns of tiny found leaves, I've been playing with them on the scanner. How thrilling to see the fine veins and hairs in the huge enlargements on the monitor, and how very disappointing to not be able to share them here in that size and resolution.

Marja-Leena | 20/10/2008 | 14 comments
themes: Nature, Photoworks


14 comments

The delicacies of detail are indeed thrilling when writ large. I can imagine how extraordinary they look. It just goes to show that every little thing can delight when looked at in the appropriate way.

The thrilling details might not show through the way you have seen them, but they are certainly evoked here -- and the colors, well those are wonderful to take in. I have been knitting again, and looking at these leaves, I want to go find the three dominant colors from each leaf for that next project. :)

In the last few days I have been taking close-ups of leaves too, though I haven't been scanning them. Like you, I find the detail - the veins, the spots and marks of intruders, fascinating and dramatic. You have certainly brought out wonderful detail.

Olga, today's technologies really expand our ways of seeing but we do start with our own eyes, finding the possibilities, don't we?

Maria, I'm glad these work for you, and inspire your knitting! You must show me...

Joe, there's such wealth of colour in leaves these days to inspire us to look closer, to photograph, scan and write.

they are worth it for the colours alone though!

Rosie, thanks, glad you like!

Ah the beauty of leaves. I used them for a few of my artworks that I do on Photoshop. It's either for texture or colors. Amazing what you can get

Cathy, I've seen the lovely things you do with leaves! Thanks for dropping by.

Lovely. I was interested in the Tibouchina, having never seen this tree/shrub to my knowledge. It looks extremely beautiful in flower & there's the bonus of the leaf colour. The nursery notes I found indicate low frost tolerance, but you must get plenty of that?

Anna, did you see the photo of the flower? It's a small shrub-like houseplant that spends only the summer outside. I keep it in the solarium otherwise where it can get quite cool but is frost free. The leaves are normally green but when stressed by drought, or the change from indoors to out or the reverse, the leaf turns this brilliant colour, then drops. I start new plants via cuttings, and would love to give you one if you were closer!

No I missed it, just Googled and found this, which made me think it was an outdoor tree. Different varieties, I suppose. Glorious colour.

Anna, thanks for the link. I did not know there are tree forms of this. I think mine is T. urvilleana. I love the silky, velvety flower and the furry texture of the leaf.

Ah, now you remind me of a lovely leaf I saw on the ground today, but I was in a hurry and going indoors and meant to pick it up on my way back but then was distracted. Fortunately there are an abundance of little gems on the streets these days here.

Leslee, I had the same experience today - many pink and red leaves on the edge of a sidewalk as I walked to a shop - again, wished I'd had the camera.