Wordless Wednesday

A little burst of colour on a very grey day. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

Wordless Wednesday

“Time is not duration but intensity; time is the beat and the interval […]” ― Ursula K. Le Guin, A Fisherman of the Inland Sea

Fun with the digital colouring-in book

Photinia, Red Robin (I think). Image: Su Leslie, 2017. Edited with Stackables and Snapseed.

Sometimes the unlikeliest image attaches itself to my imagination. The new leaves on what I think is a Photinia Red Robin (gardeners PLEASE correct me if I’m wrong), offered a nice composition with which to play.

I have become rather fond of the textures and colour effects of the Stackables app, and always enjoy an excuse to play there. This week’s editing and processing theme at Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge (at Lens and Pens by Sally) gives me just such an excuse.

new leaves of Photinia, Red Robin (I think). Image: Su Leslie, 2017. Edited with Snapseed and Stackables.

New leaves of Photinia, Red Robin (I think). Image: Su Leslie, 2017. Edited with Snapseed and Stackables.

New leaves. Photinia, Red Robin (I think). Image: Su Leslie, 2017. Edited with Snapseed and Stackables.

Wordless Wednesday

Autumn sneaking in. Image: Su Leslie, 2016

Driven to abstraction

Pohutukawa leaf. Image: Su Leslie, 2016. Edited with Snapseed, Pixlr and Stackables.

In nature, it is normal for all parts of an organism –and indeed an entire eco-system — to work harmoniously to ensure survival.

The veins in a leaf transport water and nutrients (1); the health of the plant depends on that flow. All parts of the leaf need water and minerals so they can transport sap back to the rest of the plant. Neglect, decay or disease in any part of the system affects the well-being of the whole.

Pohutukawa leaves. Image: Su Leslie, 2016. Edited with Snapseed, Pixlr and Stackables.

It’s a simple idea that we accept in nature, yet ignore when it comes to human lives and systems. We over-fish and pollute our oceans, dig up and burn fossil fuels, destroy rain forests and the thousands of species that live in them, build roads and cities over land that once produced food, contaminate our food and water supplies … the list seems endless.

We have forgotten the most elemental truth:

The Earth does not belong to us: we belong to the Earth. — Marlee Matlin

In these pohutukawa leaves we can see the connections and the journeys between every part of the structure. I can edit the images in many ways, but the relationship stays the same.  Survival of the whole depends on the health of all the parts.

Pohutukawa leaves. Image: Su Leslie, 2016. Edited with Snapseed, Pixlr and Stackables.

This post was written for Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge at Lens and Pens by Sally, and Ailsa’s Travel Theme at Where’s my Backpack. The theme in both cases is abstract.

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(1) Leaf, Wikipedia.

 

 

 

 

Step away from the mayhem, if only for a while

Kowhai leaves. Image: Su Leslie, 2015. Edited with Snapseed and Aviary Photo Editor.

In the days before Christmas, life took on a slightly manic quality. Locating sellotape and wrapping paper became a quest of epic proportions, and even the smallest errand seemed to involve a cast of thousands;  all of us sitting in our cars waiting for a parking space.

I had very little time to spend outdoors, alone with my thoughts; so I valued an early-morning walk even more than usual.

It seems appropriate that these images for Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge, should reference the unexpected, and rather ethereal sense of peace I felt during that walk.

Kowhai leaves; black and white. Image: Su Leslie, 2015. Edited with Snapseed and Aviary Photo Editor.

 

Kowhai leaves; black and white. Image: Su Leslie, 2015. Edited with Snapseed and Aviary Photo Editor.

“… a second spring”

Autumn leaves, Auckland NZ. Photo: Su Leslie 2015. Shot with iPhone4, framed in Pixlr Express.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower

— Albert Camus

Returning some books to the library yesterday, I noticed this plant growing on the corner of a building. Against the dark concrete, the pinks and bright greens stood out, and I couldn’t resist snapping a couple of pictures on my phone. I didn’t have my glasses on, so I really didn’t expect the images to be very good. When I remembered to look at them last night, I was very pleasantly surprised.

Autumn leaves. Photo: Su Leslie, 2015. Shot with iPhone4, framed with Pixlr Express.

Autumn leaves. Photo: Su Leslie, 2015. Shot with iPhone4, framed with Pixlr Express.

This post was written for Sally’s Phoneography and non-SLR digital devices photo challenge at Lens and Pens by Sally. You can see more here.