the forgotten leaf
In the late fall of 2014, I was out walking in the backyard. All the leaves of the season had fallen, and as I was walking around I looked down and saw this interesting large cottonwood leaf on the ground which caught my attention. This would make a cool looking image, I thought to myself. I am going to photograph this. So, I picked it up and took it back with me. I placed it in a large book to dry, flatten, and preserve. There it stayed for a couple of months before I remembered it. After the drying process, I took the dry leaf out. I looked around and found some old wire in the garage and formed a stand for the leaf steam to be glued to. It worked great for what I was envisioning to photograph. I then placed the leaf on the shelf over my computer editing desk until I was ready to photograph it, and there it remained for 4 years! YES 4 YEARS! Unbeknown to me the leaf began to change with time; it no longer stayed flat. It started to twist and bend. Its natural character started to come out. I do not know how it never got damaged siting there all those years, but it remained there intact, just waiting there for me to photograph it someday. Now, today is March 23, 2018. I looked up from my computer and the leaf caught my attention and said to me, yes it talked to me, “I am ready. Are you?” Whoa, I thought to myself and Inspiration took over from there. I took the leaf down and looked it over and saw all the changes that happened to it. I thought to myself wow, how cool. I then commenced to photograph the leaf, one in color and one in Black & White. They both have a different feeling but amazingly the same connection. Sometimes it takes time to tell the story and show the true character of what we see.
