POTW 10 May 2020 - Fern

[Mike Farley]

I have always enjoyed the intricate shapes made by fern leave fronds as they first develop.

[Iggy]

Hi Mike,
The triffid look of your developing fern is probably amplified by the white background.
Interesting take.
Iggy

[Mike Farley]

The triffid look of your developing fern is probably amplified by the white background.

I was not thinking in terms of "triffidry" until you mentioned it but the unfurling fronds have long held a fsacination for me, not to mention many others. I have tried shooting ferns in situ, but is very difficult. There is usually a breeze which means using a high shutter speed to stop movement and controlling backgrounds can be a problem. I find placing the fern against a plain backdrop is more effective. I also boosted contrast in this image, although I might have reduced the effect if I were making a print.

For a comparison, this is a slightly different view of the fern set against black but with a similar post processing treatment. I did not quite manage to have total sharpness front to back so it did not make the final cut when I made the final selection.

Fern alternate

Fern Alternate.jpg (80.4 KiB) Viewed 1951 times