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.
