Project 9: Change. Studies of Leaf Decay

Project 9: Change. Studies of Leaf Decay.

Shortly after receiving the notes for the current course in September 2013 I decided to initiate a personal project, looking at leaf decay. The intention was to study the decay, over weeks, of fallen leaves. I was particularly interested in looking for colour changes caused by the chemical degradation of the chlorophyll porphyrins that give the leaves their colour and in comparing the degradation of leaves from different species of tree. I planned to photograph the leaves at regular intervals and to use the photographs to produce composite images, tracking the progress of the decay. Although I set myself a number of goals, one goal was to produce and present a sequence of images for Project 9 (“Change”) of the course work.

Following the telephone discussion with my tutor, held in December 2013, it was agreed that all my course project work for Assignments 1 and 2 should be geared to complimenting and benefiting the study for my major project (“Feeding The Birds”). Consequently, the leaf decay studies were considered unsuitable. However, the work was not abandoned and I have included an overview of the studies to date here, as part of my logbook/blog.

 Methodology

Freshly fallen leaves were collected between late October and early November. Leaves from a wide variety of tree species were chosen. The main criteria for collection were that (a) the collected leaves should be colourful, with at least three different colours (including green) being visible at the start and (b) they should incorporate distinctive forms, patterns and/or defects that could be studied as the leaves decayed.

The leaves were photographed on the day of collection. They were then left outdoors, at the mercy of the elements, to “weather”. The leaves were then re-photographed every 2-4 days until no significant changes could be seen between the final two images. Photography was carried out by placing the individual leaves on a light box, after the leaves were first dampened (if necessary) and then flattened inside a heavy book. All leaves were placed diagonally across the light box, with the stem at the bottom right. Care was taken to ensure that the leaves were always the right way up! The camera (always the Nikon D90 for this project) was adjusted manually, with the 17-70mm zoom lens set to ca 35mm, the shutter speed between 1/40 and 1/60 seconds and the aperture in the range f8 to f11 (as leaves darkened it was necessary to use longer shutter speeds and/or wider apertures).

I started photographing 15 leaves, but only ended with seven. Some of the leaves, despite being pinned down outside by bricks and stones, blew away in the storm force winds of the “St Jude’s Storm”. Other leaves produced uninteresting results, so these were discarded.

Post-production work involved selecting (say) five from up to 12 images of an individual leaf, which together clearly showed the progress of decay. Each image was then cropped in a horizontal (7x5) format, using “Photoshop Elements 8”. Blemishes on the surface of the light box were removed and the five images were roughly “equalised” for light box brightness. Images were reduced to a standard size, care being taken to ensure that the size of the leaf in each image was essentially the same. Minor changes were made to leaf brightness and contrast. The leaf in each image was then selected and copied onto a plain white background. The leaf was rotated into a vertical position (stem at the bottom). The resultant image was then cropped closely to each side of the leaf, the cropped image (now in “portrait” orientation) being adjusted to a standard height. Finally, the leaves in each of the five images were again selected and copied onto a “letterbox” shaped plain white background and moved so that the first photograph of the leaf was on the left and the last photograph was on the right, with the leaves in date sequence and similar gaps between each two leaves. The progress of decay could then be studied by moving sequentially from left to right.

The composite images for oak leaf (Image 1), maple leaf (Image 2) and beech leaf (Image 3) decay are shown below.

Image 1: Oak Leaf Decay

Image 2: Maple Leaf Decay

Image 3: Beech Leaf Decay

I decided to have Images 1 and 3 printed commercially at (20x8) inch size. The prints reveal more clearly the subtle effects of decay moving from the left to the right of each sequence. However, they also demonstrate that the beautiful changes in colour experienced when leaves “turn” in the autumn whilst still attached to the trees (particularly noticeable in Japanese Maple) cannot be reproduced once the leaf has fallen; rather, the leaves just darken and turn brown as the tree that has nurtured them can no longer provide any sustenance.

Further Work

From collecting the leaves to producing the photographs and converting them into composite images, this project has consumed a considerable amount of time (only a fraction of the work is presented here). However, the project is unfinished. I have presented the results of leaf decay in a formal, figurative manner. Although this is an effective way of illustrating how an individual leaf decays I would like to go further by producing a composite for leaf decay in general, in which the destinies of all the leaves involved in my study are interwoven. When (if ever!) there is time I have an idea in my head about how to put across the concept of (fallen) leaf decay, using images of all the leaves that I studied, in a more abstract and artistic manner….. watch this space.