Fascination with Form, Part 2

Sometimes form announces itself, as in the Wart Fern at the right. These ‘warts‘ are actually called ‘sori‘ which produce spores for reproduction. These sori spread out in a such a repeated and evenly spaced way that seems almost uncanny, kind of rigid and fastidious, almost too orderly for nature, perhaps.

Then, in another take I found a comical aspect to the way the fronds are pointing up, as if the plant was waving its arms in alarm. Like one of those blow-up waving guys at car lots.

Then there’s the example of the old Slovenian house below. Here, the creeping ivy and other vines gripping the stucco seemed to be reclaiming the house for nature.

A part of me wants to play with the cropping, seeing more in the detail and less in the larger context. 

Another way I often find interesting form is through the optical phenomenon of telephoto compression. Simply put, it’s the way a zoom lens optically  ‘compresses’ distances. Think of how a television camera in a baseball game seems to compress the distance between the hitter and the catcher. 

In the photo below right of the Judean Desert in the West Bank, I used a telephoto zoom lens to compress the distance of the landscape before me. The apparent effect is to pack these elements tighter in a way that emphasizes the rugged and formidable character of the Judean Desert. By increasing the contrast I also drew attention to the patterns in the ancient grazing tracks. You can almost begin to imagine the centuries of grazing, all the way back to the time of Jesus.