Macro Abstract Leaf At Aiken County Historical Museum In Aiken, SC

Fall Insinuation

Macro abstract leaf at Aiken County Historical Museum in Aiken, South Carolina — Fall Insinuation

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When I found this leaf near the south wall at the Aiken County Historical Museum it was starting to change colors, even though Fall hadn’t officially commenced. The colors of the leaves on the bush where I discovered this had already transformed enough to call me over and, once there, forced a closer examination of them. I selected this one for a couple of reasons: I loved the random patterns of decay and the colors it provided, it was relatively flat (which when shooting at two times life-size at such a close distance is an important consideration if you wish to maximize the zone of sharpness), it had some dew on the surface to enhance the colors, and its location had limited impediments to access. The wind being calm was also another significant factor in obtaining my Fall Insinuation piece as I needed eight seconds of exposure time. The high level of detail allows surface textures and individual dew drops to be seen.

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Macro Abstract Tree Sap At Hopeland Gardens In Aiken, SC: Part 9

Tree Sap: Part 9

Part 9 is a continuation of the Tree Sap blog posts from Hopeland Gardens. To see works from or read The Artist’s Story for Part 8, click here.

Macro abstract tree sap at Hopeland Gardens in Aiken, South Carolina — Spiked Drops

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The unusual shape of the sap in my Spiked Drops piece is what attracted me to it. If you’ve been following my Tree Sap posts, then you’ll recall that there were two limbs that had been cut. This was under the smaller limb and was hanging down far enough that the extremely shallow depth of field, when shooting at two times life-size, reduced most of the background bark down to simple colors. Both larger drops have nice reflections and refractions. I loved the smaller tapered drop and wondered how it could have been formed in that manner without colliding with the larger drop and being absorbed.

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Molten is the final sap composition I was able to create. I was surprised that a collection of sap so large still had such good clarity. Most of the sap runs had at least started to dry and were turning a milky color. These drops were lower on the tree trunk beneath the area where the larger limb had been trimmed.

I love the colors that the lowest drop on the bottom has pulled in and the color striations in all of the drops. They also have some very nice multicolored refractions and colorful reflections.

The pieces in this series of blog posts, taken as a whole, feel like some type of a project – especially since I became accustomed to shooting at their location. I was able to create compositions nearly all season long starting from the time I first discovered the limbs had been cut and the tree had sap running down it. When there wasn’t much to point my camera at on any given day, I knew that I could at least get something from the sap tree.

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Macro Dew Covered Carolina Anole At Hopeland Gardens In Aiken, SC

Wet Hunter

Macro dew covered Carolina Anole at Hopeland Gardens in Aiken, South Carolina — Wet Hunter

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Prior to creating my Wet Hunter piece, I was exploring the swampy area in Hopeland Gardens where a couple of my favorite leaf compositions have come from looking for another leaf that had turned the right color and would be backlit by the rising sun. I didn’t find any cool leaves, but while I was searching, I looked up and this anole caught my eye.

Though I’ve posted previously about being an opportunistic wildlife shooter, the scene was simply too good to ignore. I created more than 240 images in an effort to get the best pose that I possibly could. I really had to work to get this. Multiple perspectives were needed because the rising sun occasionally brought too much light into the background which forced me to find an angle that looked into an area with better balance. Additionally, I used decreasing camera to subject distances as I worked my way closer by carefully repositioning the tripod. It likely would have taken fewer images under better conditions, but the wind was blowing the cattail around (which by extension was moving the anole), and my subject would not sit still for very long. It was frequently moving its head, and, when the head was still, the eye was moving all over the place.

I loved the dew drops all over its body, the position it was in, how the tail was wrapped behind the cattail leaf, the cattail head, the angle of the cattail leaf (diagonally up through the frame), and the nice colors. I love artistic nature pieces – especially work from the late Ronnie Gaubert (one of my luminaries). Ronnie had an ability to present nature as both documentary and beautifully artistic, and I think I may have been tapping into some of his influence that morning. This was my favorite of the several images I kept, and the others that made the cut are available as stock only. The high level of detail allows surface textures and individual dew drops to be seen.

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Macro Abstract Hibiscus Leaf At Hopeland Gardens In Aiken, SC

Meal Design

Macro abstract partially consumed Hibiscus leaf at Hopeland Gardens in Aiken, South Carolina — Meal Design

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My Meal Design piece consists of three basic components: a hibiscus leaf, sepal, and petal. I loved the design cut into the yellow leaf likely by some type of insect that had eaten it. I placed it in the frame so that the midrib would run diagonally while filling the bug holes with the colors of the petal behind it. With a bit of aesthetic luck, the ribs of the background petal were also running up the frame on diagonal lines. I couldn’t do much with the green sepal as it was connected to the petal, but I felt that it was fine adding just a touch of additional color to the lower corner. The high level of detail allows surface textures and individual fibers to be seen.

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Macro Tree Seeds At Hopeland Gardens In Aiken, SC

Seed Pods

Macro tree seeds at Hopeland Gardens in Aiken, South Carolina — Seed Pods

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Catching a glimpse of what looked like seeds on a tree in Hopeland Gardens, I decided to investigate a little closer. I walked around the tree and checked high and low, but only a single cluster of the seeds was in a position that could be utilized and was aesthetically pleasing. The rest of them were either partially or completely covered by leaves, hidden or obscured in some other way, had undesirable backgrounds, etc.. I liked their design, how they were hanging, the leaf behind them, and the background in my Seed Pods piece. The sharp, pointed tips of the seeds are echoed in the middleground leaf by its serrated edge while the deflated seeds provide a calming tone between the two. The high level of detail allows surface textures and individual hairs to be seen.

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Macro Abstract Tree Bark At Aiken County Historical Museum In Aiken, SC

Tree Bark

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The discovery of the scene in my Black Stars piece was serendipitous. I found it on one of the trees along the sidewalk on the side of the house at the Aiken County Historical Museum and it wasn’t what I initially set out to capture. What originally attracted me to this area was some patches of nice pastel colors and a whole lot of holes burred into the bark in lines. After setting up the tripod and getting my first view, the lens was pointing toward a spot without any of the holes, but the star patterns more than made up for that. With the morning sun not yet up that far, it was pretty dark back there between the house and the wall, and this creation required 25 seconds of exposure time (which for macro is a fairly long exposure). Interestingly, after I had captured several frames of the stars, I took a look at the scene I had originally intended to frame – it wasn’t artistically pleasing. The high level of detail allows surface textures to be seen.

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Coming around the side of the house and out into the front yard, I noticed a pine tree being lit by the sunrise. The golden light enhanced the bark that was peeling off in nice abstract patterns and I was thrilled with its colors. I examined the trunk for the area that had the best color in combination with the most aesthetic design. I loved the oranges, yellows, and browns in my Earth Tones composition. Surface textures can be seen here as well thanks to the high level of detail.

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Macro Periwinkle At Aiken County Historical Museum In Aiken, SC: Part 2

Periwinkle: Part 2

Part 2 is a continuation of the Periwinkle posts from the Aiken County Historical Museum. To see works from or read The Artist’s Story for Part 1, click here.

Macro Periwinkle at Aiken County Historical Museum in Aiken, South Carolina — Star Light

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The flower in my Star Light piece was fairly large compared to the periwinkle I normally see. In fact, that is what caused me to stop and look at it more closely. And, I’m glad I did. I loved the little wheel looking object in the very center of the flower and the ample amount of yellow encircling it. I also liked how the white was shooting away from the center (i.e., beams of varying lengths that fade in intensity as they travel farther from the center) as if it was some type of light rays. The high level of detail allows surface textures to be seen.

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I discovered the group of periwinkle in my Pink Pair just off the sidewalk as I was headed toward the patio area. I found them attractive because they were fresh and pretty. I loved the subtle pink tones in their petals and their gorgeous centers. I placed the right side flower’s center on the right most crossing line, using the rule of thirds, and used it as my focal point. Luckily both flower centers were nearly the same distance from the camera sensor which meant that the left side fell squarely into the zone of sharpness. The high level of detail allows individual hairs to be seen.

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Macro Abstract Tree Sap At Hopeland Gardens In Aiken, SC: Part 8

Tree Sap: Part 8

Part 8 is a continuation of the Tree Sap blog posts from Hopeland Gardens. To see works from or read The Artist’s Story for Part 7, click here.

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The sap in my Big Drop composition produced one of the largest single drops I had seen while creating these pieces. I liked the mostly moss filled green background and this drop had a little bit of everything going for it. For example, it has a couple of very nice sunstars, pulled in and warped background colors, pretty blue reflections, rainbow and multicolored refractions, and crystalline strained and stretched areas. Simply put, I couldn’t resist it.

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Macro Abstract Leaf At Hopeland Gardens In Aiken, SC

Lava Leaf

Macro abstract leaf at Hopeland Gardens in Aiken, South Carolina — Lava Leaf

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Lava Leaf is from the same swampy area of Hopeland Gardens that produced Fire Veins. In fact, they are both from the same type of leaf. Additionally, it was backlit by the golden toned light of the rising sun. I loved the colors and the design created by the skin transformation as the leaf passes through its final stages of life. Upon finding this particular area of the leaf, it immediately made me think of molten rock streams flowing and mixing together as they pour from a volcano. Discovering scenes like this is a major reason why I love shooting abstract macros so much.

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Macro Beautyberry At Hopeland Gardens In Aiken, SC

Beautyberry

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I liked how the berries in my Beautyberry piece resembled little purple balls. Taken together across a much larger area of the bush, they produce a fairly large area of color which is what initially attracted me to them. I searched in and around the bush until I found a branch that had an artistically pleasing layout of berries. I also liked the way the gorgeous green leaves provided support by being at both ends and in between each of the three berry tiers. The high level of detail allows surface textures and individual dew drops to be seen.

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