Impressionist Leaves

This photograph is an interpretation of some dried leaves quite near where we live. I made it while photographing the remains of the first snow of the season – however, this, the best photo of the day, turned out to not be about snow at all.

I was walking under some tall bushes, their leaves already dried and clumped together by the retreating summer. As the leaves brushed by my face, I noticed how lovely and smooth they were, curled and perfect like they had been carefully shaped from clay.

I photographed the tiny scene for hours, very close up with a wide angle lens. Facing skyward, I created a random, staccato background from the rest of the bush and the trees above it, opening the aperture and blurring almost everything to create a strong feeling of movement. In this photo, the leaves are mere inches from the front of my lens.

I love this photo, and many others that I made that day. It reminds me of a quick glance, a memory, a feeling, or a smell – intangible, numb, but deliciously powerful.