Something that inspires me is the very temporary nature of everything. I also have a fondness for delicate, ephemeral things. So the small collection of skeletonised leaves that Mum has became a little project for me while I was home on a rainy afternoon. They’re extremely fragile, and I wanted to emphasise that. Leaf skeletons are the tracery of veins left behind after a leaf decomposes. Apparently you can make them!  All of ours were found on walks in the Whakarewarewa Forest.

 My strategy was to light them from behind with a light-box, and get nice and close with a macro lens to focus in on the dynamic patterns. The leaves feel almost feather-like, and from a distance they do look similar. But close up you can see the branching veins outlining where the cells used to be, reminiscent of the structure of the trees they fell from.

One of the bulbs in the light-box had died, so the lighting wasn’t as even as I’d have liked. Once I get around to replacing it, I’ll have another crack at making some images.

As well as leaf skeletons there are three little seed-pod skeletons from Anna’s vegetable garden. I’m not 100% sure what plant they’re from, but they’re gorgeous!

All images taken with Nikon D700, with Sigma 105mm f/2.8.