Went back out in the yard to see if I could capture any more clouds with my digital camera. The sky was pretty much clear, but I noticed some of the hollyhock leaves glowing in the sunlight. Now that the taller stems have been cut off, the leaves closest to the ground are much more visible.

Talk about texture! I went back and looked at my shots of rhubarb leaves, and they seemed perfectly smooth compared to these crinkly, wrinkly guys.

Most people don’t think of such green plants still alive and thriving at this point in the calendar.

Who’d imagine that a little old hollyhock leaf would have such a marvelous design? What a difference backlighting makes in a close-up nature photograph.

I remember watching my grandfather in Amidon take a hollyhock leaf, spread it out on top of his fist, then hit it with his other hand, creating a loud and impressive popping sound.

Nice to see a touch of green as we slide closer and closer to the season of white, grey, tan, and brown.

Yesterday was a very warm, calm, sunny day, so I went out in the yard and took some pictures with my new digital camera. It’s similar to my old camera in many ways, but it does offer a few more choices that should be fun to use. My old camera is pretty much done for, I’m afraid, after it was dropped a second time while I was trying to multi-task the other night. Hope to keep a better grip on the new one!

The hollyhocks looked a little tough this year, not getting much moisture again. The leaves have the same appeal to me as the rhubarb leaves did earlier this summer. They have all these wonderful lines and creases in them, with the added attraction of being full of holes!

Moving the camera just slightly at close range creates a strikingly different composition. I’m able to see what I’m shooting a little better with this camera, due to a dark covering on the viewing screen.

Not only did the hollyhock leaves have the extra design dimension of holes, some of them even offered up a variety of late summer color. This is the first year I’ve ever thought to photograph hollyhock leaves, also. I imagine that most previous summers I gave them a passing glance, thinking they sure look rough!

It pays to go back out and see if the light has changed since the last batch of photos. Here I caught a nice sunny area on the golden brown leaf that wasn’t there earlier. Well, so far so good with my new little image-capturing machine. Still have quite a bit to learn about it, but I guess that will happen with time.

Here are some shots of September leaves that have fallen on a dark asphalt driveway. The deep charcoal background color really lets the shape of the leaf stand out.

There is something wonderful about the shape of a leaf, and I would have liked to compose a few more photos of them. The breeze was making it a little more difficult than was necessary, though, so I’ll wait for a calmer day. Should have plenty more to choose from in the near future.