A Personal Project
It is a great pleasure to see my images of unfurling foliage published in the March issue of Country Living. Considering it was a personal project with no expectation of publication- even better! One that was 'me' rather than for commercial aims.Late winter and early spring can be a stark time in the photographic calender and is a time for rest and making space for the creative time to come. A personal project is a way of getting out when it is easier to stay in and to create when the inclination is less.
The colours and patterns of new emerging foliage, particularly Acers, have always been a source of interest and curiosity to me. Acers can be as colourful as they are in Autumn but rarely mentioned in the Horti press. Country Living did indeed publish the ‘Spring Acers’ I took several years ago. I like that they can be up for the more quirky...
Personal projects I believe are good for photographers as a way of stepping back and staying in touch with why you do this in the first place. Many of us do this for the love of it and try and make a living if it. Happily, I do not work with anything that doesn't inspire me but we do have to work in a way that is commercially appealing much of the time. Therefore winter being quiet can be the best time for personal projects and experimentation. It is also essential to be authentic with photography and work with your own style and remain individual - it's what sets us apart, after all.
Lindera umbellata var. membranacea was probably the inspiration for this- so different. The compelling thing was that all emerging foliage is so different from how it looks in maturity. I pondered at what this was like when mature. Would it be equally as lovely? I couldn’t find it when I went back months later so maybe it was just ‘green’…
I love to see Hostas emerging like little scrolls and the fancy frilliness of Paeonia foliage. Not as blousy and full on as the flowers are from spring but a little world silently waking up with a little show of their own.
And yes, Country Living did take this quirky little project. Roll on next winter.
