Flatlay photography
One year ago, I entered this photo into a photo contest on Instagram with @creativelysquared, who hosts weekly themed challenges. This was my first challenge and I was selected as one of two winners. You can find out all about these weekly challenges here:
To see more photos that I entered into these weekly challenges, click here
There is so many greens to choose from here on Vancouver Island. This time of year it almost seems like the land of Oz. I decided to focus on the unusual, I found several different types of lichens, in the categories of the mantles and the hairs. I found an interesting website: Lichens
I added in the seed pod and the two silver green leaves from a Dusty Miller plant for contrast.
In the image below I included my found objects from the same walk. I have to say the country roads I walk on are very clean as I really have to look and scout about for any garbage. I couldn't believe that I came across a green cigarette package as a few days before, it definitely wasn't there. I found an invitation printed on green card stock that cars had driven over so many times that holes were worn in it and I had to pry it off the road - it took on a look of the green "mantle" lichen. A bottle cap with a forwards and backward "F" and the name"Fermentorium". A white plastic straw with a yellow stripe, pull tab, red candy wrapper, a stone with a greenish tinge to it and one red berry. I have said this before but it is amazing what I see and discover when I am focused on one colour; there are so many things that I would overlook otherwise. Give it a try!
On my walk today, I found different types of mushrooms. I am amazed how many I see tucked her and there; types I hadn't noticed before. The plant to the left is unknown to me and it was really deteriorating, it is an interesting contrast to the mushrooms.
Well, I never guessed that it would be hard to find yellow. It really took a lot of sleuthing on my walk today to find yellow. There is yellow orange, and yellow green but to find just yellow was hard this time of year. I found a mushed up phone book that someone had driven over dozens of times in their drive way, I brought it home for the yellow pages, but decided not to use it. I found a small yellow Rona Hardware bag - the kind you put nails in and that was it for found objects. I did a lot of editing, so there was some material gathered that didn't make it to the final cut.
All of the yellow collection with the phone book yellow pages and the Rona bag - [December 10th] after everything has dried out.
Challenge on today's walk was to find objects that were orange. Five minutes into my walk I found an orange balloon - couldn't believe it. Turned around and across the road was the remains of a pumpkin - probably from Halloween, it was mushy buy I could pull the skin off in several pieces; felt very pleased with that find, even pulled off the short stem. Other finds today were a orange cigarette butt, a pink plastic circle with a hole in it - kind of like a life saver shape; and a metal washer. I was really pleased with the orangey rose hips and even two orangey roses in not too bad of shape but really on their way out. I found those at a little park. It is really interesting that once you put your focus on something how that particular colour just pops into view. I know the balloon and pumpkin had been there for a while but I hadn't even noticed them. This is turning out to be a really fun project and it gives a whole different feel to my walk and what I look at and notice. I love it!
Walking in the rain today in my neighbourhood of Cobble Hill, BC. I focused on collecting mostly red objects from nature and the manufactured world. Bits of man made objects included, 2 tiny pieces from a red balloon, red tape, 2 small pieces of red plastic. A "Chupa Chups" candy wrapper in red, brown and yellow, [I have never had one]. A white plastic tip from a cigarillo, red plastic bottle cap, 2 white elasticized strings - most likely from a roasted chicken and found in different locations. Various types of leaves, blackberries on a prickly stem that I had to cut with my small red Swiss army pen knife - the blackberries were red, most likely ones that haven't ripened yet, rose hips, arbutus bark, pine cone and pine cone scales, mushrooms. A red blade of grass from a New Zealand flax plant from the front of our property. Salal leaves with their red stems...one was an older leaf that had turned red and two small new leaves. Interesting how they are both red at either end of their life cycle. Love those large brown/red mushrooms with their fancy gills.
A beautiful sunny morning for my walk -- I picked up lots of interesting things on the roadside. A "Scoubidou" key chain done in a box stitch of pink and red. I used to make key chains like this when I was a kid; that brought back memories. A piece of red plastic string, stems from leaves, a gardening glove, an HB Venus pencil, a black plastic knife, two plastic lids, a plastic ring, tin foil, cigarette pack, cigarette buts, blue plastic doggie bag, thankfully empty, dime, purple flower, two daisy's, pieces of bark, sticks, leaves, mushroom, seed pods, fungus...
On my walk today in Cobble Hill, BC I collected these plant materials on the side of the road. It was a mild but blustery day, leaves were blowing all over the place. Once I started to lay out the materials on my art table I was amazed at the beauty; incredible colour, texture and patterns. A rich source for drawing later today and tomorrow morning.
