Autumn prairie dock leaves, #1 of 5
The subjects in this series of photos are the leaves of prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum) in late autumn condition. Throughout its annual growth cycle, prairie dock is a large, distinctive plant. It has towering flower stalks often reaching upward six to eight feet that are topped off with clusters of sunflower-like yellow flowers, each three to four inches across. The leaves are huge with long petioles that can be up to foot in length, and upon which is attached an oval leaf the size and shape of a large serving platter. They are coarse, tough leaves that are uncharacteristically thick compared to those of most plants, and they feel like sandpaper and are heavily veined. Those leaves have character oozing from every pore! Once common in midwestern prairies, prairie dock became scarce due to the near-total destruction of the prairies for farmland and towns. It is also found in some rarer natural communities such as barrens, glades and fens, and those habitats were heavily persecuted, too. The plant is becoming more well known today since it is frequently used in large prairie restoration projects, small scale prairie plantings and in general landscaping situations.
I think prairie dock leaves make great photographic subject material. Their shape, form, and venation lend them well to artistic ideas and applications. The heavy venation looks great when backlit from the low rays of morning or evening sunlight. And the massive leaves can be used effectively in broader landscapes as foreground subject material in prairie settings. I particularly like the color, shape and texture of old, dry prairie dock leaves in late autumn. They take on a character not unlike the leathery, weathered skin of an old man who has spent a lifetime making a living outdoors at sea or on the farm. As the leaves turn from green to brown, they begin to contort, taking on interesting sweeps and curves of topography. By then, they are very brittle, and when walking through a dense patch of the leaves you will hear and feel their crunching protests.
I have a few prairie dock plants in my little prairie planting in the “Back 40” of my yard. Every fall I look at those leaves and think about possibilities and know there are interesting photos in there somewhere. This past fall, I decided to make a special effort at trying to tease some artsy photos from those leaves. Gosh, it turned out much harder than I expected! With all the inherent character emanating from those leaves, why was I having so much trouble finding what I was looking for? What were my eyes and my brain failing to see? I would find myself thinking of Flickr friends whose work I so admire. What would Mark do? What would Fran do?
In this series of five photographs, you see a condensed version of efforts from three different mornings of time spent with my prairie dock leaves. All the photos have some light frost in them. And you will notice they all have small white dots on the leaves. Although those dots may be somewhat enhanced by the frost, they are not just frost, but the plant material that makes prairie dock leaves so rough and sandpapery. I’m not certain what it is, but I think it is silica, the material that adds roughness to the stems of the fern relatives we call scouring rushes. Whatever the case, I think those white dots contribute to the character that makes prairie dock leaves so interesting to both photographer and camera. As for these photos, I think they turned out well enough, yet I wish for something more. There is something else there that I was unable to capture. I feel it. I know it. I will try again next fall.
Autumn prairie dock leaves, #1 of 5
The subjects in this series of photos are the leaves of prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum) in late autumn condition. Throughout its annual growth cycle, prairie dock is a large, distinctive plant. It has towering flower stalks often reaching upward six to eight feet that are topped off with clusters of sunflower-like yellow flowers, each three to four inches across. The leaves are huge with long petioles that can be up to foot in length, and upon which is attached an oval leaf the size and shape of a large serving platter. They are coarse, tough leaves that are uncharacteristically thick compared to those of most plants, and they feel like sandpaper and are heavily veined. Those leaves have character oozing from every pore! Once common in midwestern prairies, prairie dock became scarce due to the near-total destruction of the prairies for farmland and towns. It is also found in some rarer natural communities such as barrens, glades and fens, and those habitats were heavily persecuted, too. The plant is becoming more well known today since it is frequently used in large prairie restoration projects, small scale prairie plantings and in general landscaping situations.
I think prairie dock leaves make great photographic subject material. Their shape, form, and venation lend them well to artistic ideas and applications. The heavy venation looks great when backlit from the low rays of morning or evening sunlight. And the massive leaves can be used effectively in broader landscapes as foreground subject material in prairie settings. I particularly like the color, shape and texture of old, dry prairie dock leaves in late autumn. They take on a character not unlike the leathery, weathered skin of an old man who has spent a lifetime making a living outdoors at sea or on the farm. As the leaves turn from green to brown, they begin to contort, taking on interesting sweeps and curves of topography. By then, they are very brittle, and when walking through a dense patch of the leaves you will hear and feel their crunching protests.
I have a few prairie dock plants in my little prairie planting in the “Back 40” of my yard. Every fall I look at those leaves and think about possibilities and know there are interesting photos in there somewhere. This past fall, I decided to make a special effort at trying to tease some artsy photos from those leaves. Gosh, it turned out much harder than I expected! With all the inherent character emanating from those leaves, why was I having so much trouble finding what I was looking for? What were my eyes and my brain failing to see? I would find myself thinking of Flickr friends whose work I so admire. What would Mark do? What would Fran do?
In this series of five photographs, you see a condensed version of efforts from three different mornings of time spent with my prairie dock leaves. All the photos have some light frost in them. And you will notice they all have small white dots on the leaves. Although those dots may be somewhat enhanced by the frost, they are not just frost, but the plant material that makes prairie dock leaves so rough and sandpapery. I’m not certain what it is, but I think it is silica, the material that adds roughness to the stems of the fern relatives we call scouring rushes. Whatever the case, I think those white dots contribute to the character that makes prairie dock leaves so interesting to both photographer and camera. As for these photos, I think they turned out well enough, yet I wish for something more. There is something else there that I was unable to capture. I feel it. I know it. I will try again next fall.