Thursday, March 17, 2011

Nature in black and white

As spring approaches and the undergrowth in the woods starts to thicken, sights like this will soon be hidden away. There are several chestnut trees along one of the paths that we take with the dog that goes down the hill into the river valley. In the fall, it's littered with nuts and husks (you can see them here). The nuts are mostly gone now, and the husks are dried or rotting.

Knotty and nutty. Click to enprickelate.

I thought the knot hole in the log and the empty chestnut husk were interesting together. Since there wasn't much color in the image to begin with, I decided to take it all out and bump up the contrast a bit to highlight the spines.

11 comments:

  1. I think that you did a great job. Love it!
    Happy St. Patrick's Day. Got your green on?
    m.

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  2. That's a scary pic. The chestnut husk looks like a mouth, and the knot looks like an eye. I would have run.

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  3. I LOVE this photo, Walt!

    BettyAnn

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  4. A terrific image, Walt, especcially when enprickelied!

    It's delightful to spend a few vicarious minutes with you in La Renadiere in the midst of all the troubling events around the world.

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  5. Great photo.

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  6. The contrast between the tree and the seed pod really does make the picture more intense. I like it.

    Save it for a Halloween shot :-)

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  7. Love this picture. Almost looks like a nest of baby porcupines waiting to be fed.

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  8. I still have three chestnuts I picked up on les Champs Élysées many years ago.

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  9. Amazing photo, W.
    You are a first class photographer, deserving of a gallery show.

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  10. Your photo looks like a painting. Did you use a telephoto lens to take the picture?

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  11. mark, thanks! And yes, and I didn't eve realize it until I read your comment.

    cubby, the woods can be a scary place. ;)

    bettyann, thanks!

    bill, I appreciate that. The news is certainly more depressing than usual right now.

    anonymous, thank you, whoever you are.

    mary, good idea!

    diogenes, thank goodness it's not... I wouldn't have gone near it!

    starman, cool.

    stephen, and you, sir, deserve a Tony. And an Emmy. And an Oscar. Not necessarily in that order. :)

    ron, thanks! No, it's a macro close-up.

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