The Oxbow - Fall Seedpods and Galls

"Each tiniest phenomenon is beloved, is love itself..."

― Henry Shukman quoting Master Nansen, One Blade of Grass

The Oxbow

 On election day George and I decided to go for a walk at the Oxbow Nature Conservancy in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.  George is a member and received a newsletter that described a new trail so we thought we would check it out.

When we first started, we had to move at a snail's pace because I couldn't stop finding things to photograph.  I felt like I was at the beach and had to stop to look at every interesting shell.  My subjects fell into five categories: Illinois bundleflower, goldenrod bunch galls, corn, people pics, and unidentified awesomeness. 

Bundleflower

Below is a photo of the Illinois bundleflower (Desmanthus illinoiensis).  (I did a print of this seed pod a few years ago.  You can see the final print here and read more about the process here.)  I recently learned from a friend that it is also called Prairie Mimosa, which I think is a prettier name. This particular photo was one of my favorites because of the sparkly background.  

Goldenrod Bunch Gall

Below you can see my next subject, the goldenrod bunch gall.  I didn't know what this was when I was photographing it, but I knew I loved the incredible dried flowers.  Apparently this flower is caused by a tiny fly  (Rhopalomyia solidaginis) that lays its eggs on the topmost leaf of goldenrod (Solidago canadensis).  The stem of the goldenrod stops growing upward, but the leaves continue to grow, thus forming a rosette.  These "flowers" provide a home to many types of midges and thus food for insect predators.  In the fall the midge emerges from the gall and the females lay their eggs in the soil and the cycle repeats.  One interesting fact is the female lays all male or all female eggs.  This is all quite interesting to me, but I have to admit the thing I love the most is the fantastic form of the rosettes.   

Corn

 Corn (Zea mays) was the third subject.  As you know if you read this blog, I have had quite a corn obsession lately.  You can see my latest print of corn here.  I got all excited about doing another print after walking among the rows of corn and seeing it close up.

The Humans

I also had an adorable human subject who would sometimes model with the plants and who sometimes turned the camera back around.

In addition to these subjects, I had a couple unidentified seed pods.  If you know what they are let me know (just found out they are Velvetleaf, Abutilon theophrasti).  Instead of grouping the photos by subject I thought it would be more interesting to mix them all together.  I usually end most of my posts with some "deep thoughts" but decided instead to sprinkle in some quotes and let the photos stand on their own.

"Age is not all decay;
it is the ripening, the swelling, of the fresh life within,
that withers and bursts the husk."

― George MacDonald

Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Decline is also a form of voluptuousness, just like growth. Autumn is just as sensual as springtime.
There is as much greatness in dying as in procreation.”

― Iwan Goll

"The world is filled with hidden love."

― Daniella Kessler

Velvetleaf, Abutilon theophrasti

"There are always flowers for those who want to see them." 

—Henri Matisse

"I quaked in awe for the most ordinary things." 

―Henry Shukman, One Blade of Grass 

Fall

I have been loving the plants I find on my walks this fall.  When I saw the seed head above I literally had to stop in my tracks and just take it in for a while.  If anyone knows what it is please leave a comment to let me know.  I would love to plant this in my yard!

This fall has been interesting for me in that I have had a cell phone with a camera for the first time.  Originally I thought I would only use the photos from the phone for reference for art projects and continue using my Canon slr for blog photos.  My main concern with the cell phone photos was that they have a harshness of clarity to them.  It's like they have been sharpened and had the saturation turned up (see the third image down of teasel).  But the ease of carrying such a small camera won me over and I have been surprised by how much I enjoy taking photos with the phone. So I have been trying to balance using both cameras and this blog entry has a mix of the two.

When I got the phone, however, I was super annoyed when the phone started "doing" things to my photos that I didn't ask it to do...like "auto-awesoming" all my photos! WTH? I am not normally a fan of applying pre-made filters to my photos. Not that I am against filters... more that I am a control freak and I like to meticulously edit them myself. But I have to admit, every so often I liked a random one here and there. Above is an example of one I liked of George birding in Caldwell Nature Preserve.

See how the above photo is a bit over-the-top and the photo below is more natural?  I know it isn't really a fair comparison because the lighting and subjects were different, but I tend to like a softer image as opposed to a hyper-realistic image where the colors are pushed to their limits.  Perhaps in the future I will do a direct comparison of the same subjects with both cameras.

As I try and navigate new technology one thing always stays the same...my love of getting close to my subjects.  Of really stopping and taking the time to look and see them...  to know them.  Take a look at the seed head below!  I love the way the layers have dried and folded up to let go of their precious cargo.  I wanted to end this post with a quote and I liked the first one I found.

"Love’s secret is always lifting its head out from under the covers, “Here I am!” - Rumi