Monday, February 11, 2013

Textures


Texture is the most enduring and ubiquitous underpinning of form... certainly a calming, meditative and appealing world for both the eye and mind. ~ Lynda Lehmann

I have a few photos showing various textures as seen on my everyday walks or at home. I hope you enjoy them.

sunlit fuzzy sumac
The late November sun shone from behind this fuzzy sumac limb. You can see that the buds were already preparing for spring.




snapped limb
The ragged wooden bits of a snapped tree limb.




last oak leaf and shadow
A golden oak leaf and its shadow as seen on New Year's Day.




fluffs
These tall-growing plants seem to last through the winter. I'm not sure what they're called but Fluffs is as good a name as any.




Betty and baby4
Alongside the brick wall, mama and baby chipmunk wait patiently for the nut and seed buffet to begin.




peeling
The warm sunlight illuminates a strip of peeling tree bark.




trapped milkweed seed
The silken hairs of the milkweed seed are trapped on a dried plant stem.




sap and peanut
A pine tree in the park oozes blue sap. A peanut in the knot hole awaits one of our regular squirrel friends.




maple holding on
This maple leaf is still rich with colour in late November, despite being dry and brittle.




dino cordon blue
Last but not least, I thought that this partial portion of Chicken Cordon Blue resembled a dinosaur's head... or something.

I hope you enjoyed exploring these textures with me. More photos in a few days.

52 comments:

Linda said...

Those close-up photos are remarkable! Nice work! And I love the cute chipmunks.

Pierre BOYER said...

Lovely pictures as even...
:-)
Best regards from Paris,

Pierre

Leave It To Davis said...

Oh, those chipmunks are delightful! I have never seen real ones before, not even in pictures. I've only seen Alvin, Simon and Theodore. lol This is so educational!!! :) I also learned what ubiquitous means...had to look that one up!

ADRIAN said...

A real feast of images today. They are wonderful. The DOF is perfect for me.

Sueann said...

I thoroughly enjoyed the exploration with you. So beautiful
Hugs
SueAnn

Maggie May said...

No doubt about it..... the chipmunks win this time..... closely followed by the Fluffs!
Maggie x

Nuts in May

Brian Miller said...

awwww...i love the chipmunks!!!!!! smiles...and i am a huge fan of texture too....

Robin said...

Terribly slow internet today, but what I can see is amazing. Your macros the other day again encouraginged me to keep at mastering that skill - wonderful as ever!

Bob Bushell said...

The images of different are so close, but, I think you will guess, is mother and her baby Chipmunks, it is fantastic, cheers Hilary.

solarity said...

Oh, crunchy textures! (I always love wood, but I loved the others, too.)

Mary Anne in Kentucky

DJan said...

Very nice potpourri of textures. I especially love the first one, and those chipmunks are so cute! :-)

Leah J. Utas said...

That sumac is fuzzy enough to pet.
Good work on the textures.

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

You're an artist, girl. These are gorgeous. Love the "fluffs" and the chipmunks. The maple leaf is so bright and golden it almost hurt my eyes.

Daryl said...

my blog links are showing up wonky, but i decided to click in and was rewarded with new photos .. lovely textures

Sharon Wagner said...

I love texture. Unless it is the scratchy blanket I have on my bed. Would anyone like a scratchy blue blanket? It's free...

TexWisGirl said...

so cute with the food dinosaur. :) but i loved the cute chipmunks! we don't get them here. i miss them from my wisconsin youth. loved the focus in the first shot, too - just so perfect. beautiful maple leaf.

Tabor said...

With the low angle of the suns rays at this time of year, textures really show off, don't they?

ellen abbott said...

Awesome shots Hilary. love the leaf and its shadow.

stephen Hayes said...

This collection of photographs is aptly named. I love all the textures and can feel them with my eyes thanks to your great photographic skills.

Rosaria Williams said...

Interesting how a photograph can capture so many textures through subtleties in color and visual cues, and the added imagination the viewer brings.
Impressive how many textures you captured so beautifully!

Red said...

All interesting. I like the cotton seed heads. The hole in the maple leaf shows what stress the leave has gone through.

Anonymous said...

Hi Hils! It's been toooo long...so good to see you and your lovely images, again!

Eddy said...

These pictures are sublime. And your chipmunks are sooooooo cute...I just want to run after them and chase them up a tree.:)

WritingsForLife said...

I love your macro shots! And the little chipmunks are so adorable :-)

Phyllis E said...

Beautiful as always, Cuzzie. I have a soft spot for chipmunks. Used to have them visiting all the time when we went camping in our (slightly) younger days. They'd come right up to us and take their 'treats' from between our fingers.

Ruth Hiebert said...

You captured all those textures so well. The leaf looks so bright and cheery.

Anonymous said...

Love your eye and your macro!

Anvilcloud said...

I like the second last -- sun on leaf. Very appealing.

Gail Dixon said...

Oh, I enjoyed all of these very much! Really loved the chipmunks. What a sweet sight! The fuzzy limb was also pretty amazing.

Barb said...

Hard to pick a favorite here, Hillary! Such detailed shots - I do love the reflection of the oak leaf. And that beautiful silky milkweed.

Cloudia said...

bless you for sharing with us and the creatures!


Aloha to YOU
from Honolulu,
Comfort Spiral
~ > < } } ( ° >

Slamdunk said...

I like how you tame those chipmunks to pose for you Hilary; they are shy and jittery around here.

And, we see shapes in our food all the time. It makes for interesting family conversations at dinner; dinosaur head or what not.

Haha.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

Dinosaur food, fluffs (my favorite shot tonight, for unknown reasons) and those incredible chipmunks! Thank you, Hilary. :)

Cuby said...

What beautiful photos a real delight for the eyes. My favourites are the Milkwood and the Chipmunks however the winner is Fluffs! A lovely post. Do come and see my blog.

christopher said...

The patient chipmunks are definitely a nice snapshot.

Giga said...

Świetne zdjęcia, a szczególnie podobają mi sie z trawami, wiewiórkami oraz liść na przedostatnim zdjęciu. *** Dziękuję, że mnie odwiedziłaś. *** Bardzo chętnie będę Twoim stałym gościem, jeśli Ty będziesz też moim. Pozdrawiam.
Great pictures, and I especially like the grass, squirrels and penultimate leaf picture. Thank you *** that you visited me. *** Very happy I'll be your regular guest, if you will, in my. Yours.

Lynne with an e said...

Texture, ah yes...the very substance of life and art. Your photos give me the warm and fuzzies (not that your photos are fuzzy!) As ever, love the details that you and your camera are so finely attuned to.

Geraldine said...

what a great theme for a post and I love all the textures you've shared here. Texture adds so much!

Happy Week Hilary, G

Gayle said...

I come to your blog many times in my week for wisdom, reminders and for humor. What grand photos but even more the grand eye and mind that captures them.
{{}}

Lisa Gordon said...

These are wonderful, Hilary, especially those sweet little chipmunks!

Jo said...

What a great chipmunk shot, they're so darling. Love that bit of fluff, it's like a cloud on a stick. Blue tree sap looks very gross, but at least someone gets a nut lol!

Love the way you help us all celebrate the fine details, Hilary.

Betty Manousos said...

an interesting post on texture.

admiring your great work, hilary!
every one of these shots is fantastic.
i especially like those little chipmunks.

the maple leaf is so beautifully captured. great work on the lighting, too.

so much beauty here.

lime said...

those chipmunks are just the cutest things!

yaya said...

You find beauty in the things most of us just pass by...so good!

Gillian Olson said...

Love the textures, the fluffy images are wonderful and hard to capture. The chipmunks are soooooooooooo cute!

A Cuban In London said...

I love, love your close-up photos but that first one takes the top prize for me. It looks like an animal's claw. Amazing. Nature's just simply amazing.

Greetings from London.

Anonymous said...

Another fabulous set of shots! Lovely textures and light.

photowannabe said...

Stunning textures Hilary.
They make me want to reach out and touch them all.
Love your "dinosaur"....

Russell said...

All very interesting images.

My favourite one is the golden oak leaf with the shadow you took on New Year's Day. That is just really special.

Thanks for sharing these most beautiful photos.

Glo said...

Lovely photos ~ chipmunks ...awwwww....so cute. Happy Valentine's Day, Hilary :)

Reena said...

So enjoyed these. Especially your little chipmunks. I haven't seen mine all winter. I'm afraid something may have gotten them. :(

Laura Delegal - Leroy Photography said...

Love these textures. I'm always amazed at what you find up close.