This is a first stab at a different type of panel of autumn leaves. Rather than using a textured background – the kitchen floor or a paving slab in the garden I’ve recently shot a series of images of leaves from our Clematis and photographed them on a white background.
Once an idea comes to me, I find my brain continues to explore the idea and different approaches suggest themselves. What I like about this version is that the leaves are ‘specimens’ (as one might display butterflies or moths) – a collection of sorts. And these are concurrent, all these leaves exist on the plant at the same time as decay happens seemingly haphazardly. Some leaves well advanced and others still a brilliant pristine green.
Click on the image to see an enlargement to appreciate the panel properly. And as always your opinions are valued.
LensScaper 
i like the white background…reminds me of some light box thing i tried last year…i’d just play with the leaves and recompose them in the shape you have…nice and clean and crisp…enjoy…it’s lovely ~ smiles hedy 🙂
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Many thanks for your comments – this does work a little like a light box. The idea appeals to me because there is nothing to distract the eye.
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indeed calming…have fun!
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i mean as they are many possibilities to compose the frame… yes 🙂
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Very nice arrangement. I love the idea of documenting the passing of time with these leaves.
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Thanks Robin, The more I stare at leaf litter the more I become aware of the colours and also the varying size of leaves off a single tree. I feel more aware of Autumn through engaging in this project
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Interesting to see the different stages of decay in this way.
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Thanks Paula. It’s a sequence of events that ends in ground up leaf mould, but all the leaves are at different stages and that’s what creates the variety.
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That’s very interesting Andy and I like the display of the different stages of decay. A lovely image 🙂
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Thank you Norma. This Clematis is just outside our back door and I look at it almost evry day as I pass it. The leaves are really beautiful when viewed up close.
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Enlarging this really shows the detail and precision used in composing the final shot. Very nice work, Andy. I wouldn’t mind seeing more.
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Thank you Ken. You will see more! I think (for the time being at least) I have found the way I like most for displaying leaves – it’s a bit clinical but it allows the leaves to stand in isolation with nothing conflicting.
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Love how this forces us to recognise the differences in what we often consider as a collective. Great clean record shots too.
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Thank you SIxpixx. You are absolutely right – we often concentrate on the big picture – the blaze of colour – but when you get in close you start to see the real beauty in the detail.
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The result is very good. I like the tiny bit of shade that is there. Makes it dynamic, “alive”.
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Thank you Bente. I wasn’t entirely sure I liked the presence of the ‘shadow’ – it varied depending on how much the leaf curled. But, I agree, it stops the leaves from appearing like cardboard cutouts.
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Really beautiful study of these leaves.
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Thank you Meanderer. It’s been a very enjoyable journey.
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I like the left to right/fresh to fading effect.
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Thanks Lynn. It’s story telling through leaves really, showing how they age through the Autumn season
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This is beautifully simple yet the fading of the leaves just tells the story of the change of season. Very nicely done Andy!
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Thanks Adrian. Yes, a simple idea that I am sure has been done many times before but it still felt fresh to me and the process has given me a lot of pleasure.
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This is wonderful.
I love the arrangement.
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Thank you so much Lisa
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I thought of you today as I stepped out of my car at the bank and noticed an assortment of oak leaves scattered about the parking lot. I remembered your first leaf panel and thought, “I’m not sure I would have seen these leaves so clearly if it hadn’t been for that.” The relationship between art and life certainly does go both ways.
I very much like this panel. I wonder how it would be seen by someone who reads from right to left?
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Thanks Linda. Interesting thought in your last sentence! This has been a very worthwhile experience. It has heightened further my awareness of what is beneath my feet, and it has also been an experiment in having an idea and letting it run, expressed perhaps in the two words: ‘What if?’ The end point, expressed in the final image of the ‘Collages’ Post is as much a surprise to me as it may be to viewers. I never saw that coming, it just evolved. I highly recommend projects if you want a stimulus to your work, but be prepared for it to take over your life for a while.
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Beautiful clarity in this Andy. I really like the white background – excellent work.
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Thanks very much Simon. I tried various approaches but I liked the clarity of a white background – the leaves become ‘illustrative’ elements of Autumnal change. I’ve enjoyed the experimentation, and I anticipate I will pick this project up again next year
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