Miniature Moments of Beauty
When I recently went out with the intention of testing a new lens, I was unable to travel far, and was begrudging the fact that there was “nothing worth shooting” in my local vicinity. I was after grand vistas and exciting street scenes, all I had was the English countryside that borders the suburbs of most English towns and cities.
It was on a whim I took my first photo of a flower up close, the camera set in black and white, completely disregarding the beauty of the colours in favour of focusing on the contrast of light and dark. It wasn’t a macro lens and I didn’t know how it would come out - but when I got home, I checked my images and was blown away by the beauty that I’d nearly walked past. This led to this series of photos, that set out to capture the “miniature moments of beauty” that perhaps many of us take for granted.
“A typology is a system of classification used to organize things according to similar or dissimilar characteristics”
This was one of the first images I captured using this style, and is probably what motivated me to pursue it further. In colour, this photo would look awful; but I knew that b&w would allow me to emphasise the contrast.
I saw these teasels not ten minutes from my front door; I wanted to capture their jagged edges, and contrast this with a soft background.
Taken when I was walking with my son, and I noticed these leaves protruding from a hedgerow.
This was a warm day, I was uncomfortable and just wanted to stop and rest in the shade for a bit. I noticed this fly, and thought he might be feeling something similar.
I walked down a path and there was a field full of this flower, it looked like thousands of little galaxies of stars.
The reality is that this plant is most certainly considered a weed, but I noticed that in the right light, they looked like fireworks shooting skywards.
There is a path near my home called ‘The Monarch’s Way’, supposedly the route Charles I fled down. I was walking there taking some exercise, and I wondered how many people had passed this post, and what their stories were.
Probably my favourite image in this collection. It was a rainy afternoon, and I noticed some droplets just suspended on this leaf. It reminded me of the famous quote from ’Bladerunner’: “…all these memories will be lost, like tears in the rain”.
There is nothing special about these plants. They’re everywhere. But if you stop to appreciate them, they’re very beautiful.
I hadn’t noticed these miniature spears before, but I liked this composition, as it looked like the grass was sheltering the shoot below.
Taken near the coast, I thought this leaf looked like aged skin.
In my garden, this plant is a menace. It grows up my plants, seemingly strangling them in its pursuit for height. But I noticed this solitary flower recently, I wondered whether or not I was missing some obvious beauty that I had taken for granted.
Similar to the previous photo, but this was one of its tendrils. It’s a textbook example of the golden spiral theory.
I removed as much of the light from this shot as possible - I wanted to emphasise the little light that remained.
When shooting in b&w with red/orange/yellow filters, insects like ladybirds can start to look alien and strange.
The shape of this leaf stood out to me as interesting. The point of this series was to take time to appreciate the beauty of micro-details that we sometimes walk past and don’t appreciate. This is a good example of that.
A little moment from a hedgerow near my home.
I noticed this little chap just relaxing in the sun. He’s probably a pollinator of some sort, but I just thought he looked peaceful.
I have -no- idea what this plant is. But it made me stop and bend down to take a closer look at its textures.
Down on the Hampshire coast, we cut back in-land down a shady path. The leaves were mostly in the shade, but occasionally illuminated by the afternoon sun.
Lichen grows everywhere in the forest, but if you take the time to notice it, you can spot some really interesting shapes and patterns.
Down on the Hampshire coast, we cut back in-land down a shady path. The leaves were mostly in the shade, but occasionally illuminated by the afternoon sun.
Down on the Hampshire coast, we cut back in-land down a shady path. The leaves were mostly in the shade, but occasionally illuminated by the afternoon sun.
The shine and texture of this leaf was appealing to me. I liked how the pale veins stood out against the dark background.
Something slightly different; we had stopped at a pub, my family and I, and my daughter placed some grasses down on the bench. Before she had a chance to pick them back up I took this quick shot - I really liked the contrast in textures.
This is a plant in my garden, given to me by a friend named Jon. It is huge, towering over my 191cms; but its leaves are the star of the show. They’re huge, leathery and full of veins that stand out.