Passiflora Tendrils - Fantasy Art in Nature
I call myself a nature photographer. With the background in biology, I have always been fascinated by nature's creations and try to show their beauty in my photos. One of the most unique examples of natural art is a passiflora's tendrils.
In the past I done growing some passiflora plants and I always have been in love with those magnificent and unique flowers. Lately, living in the townhouse with a lot of restrictions, I can't do it any more. However, a few years ago someone gave me a large potted Passiflora vitifolia and I entered the fantasyland again (special thanks goes to Dr. Phil Schappert who helped me positively identified my plant).
I have an easy access to my passiflora; it is growing next to my front door so I can check my plant a few times a day looking for the new shapes and compositions. Nature is so creative and perfect that I don't ever have a feeling to try to improve it! My passiflora photos are taken without trying to change anything, showing the authentic tendrils on the living plant. I only manipulate the light, which illuminates them. My passion has been rewarded. Many photographic competitions and art galleries have accepted my work. Those magic moments when new tendrils grow are saved and many people can get familiar with a nature's wonders, which last only for short moments. With the lack of support they grow in forms of pure fantasy. Their shapes are aesthetically pleasing to the choosiest tastes. It is a challenge to catch the best moment to photograph. From hour to hour the same tendril can have a totally different shape. If one wants to photograph the best moment of an interesting tendril, one has to check them at least every hour.
Growing the passiflora in the pot with a trellis gives an extra benefit for the photographer. Many new growths are hopelessly searching for the support and some tendrils evolve to unique original forms in the empty space. Just a few words about how I photograph the tendrils in case somebody wants to do it and doesn't want to repeat the many mistakes I made. Avoid taking photographs in strong direct sunlight. Shade, early morning or late evening is the best. I almost always use the fill or full flash. The flash is mounted on a loose cable extension so I can position it independently from the camera in the angle I want. I never use a direct flash but rather bounce it with special inlet on the top of the flash head. I bounce back only 20% of the light, which is usually, enough for most cases. To get a very dark background I take photos in the very deep shade against empty space or even at night against dark sky. The biggest challenge is with very little tendrils (inch or less long) as one will has to have a very good macro lens and still face limited DOF (depth of field) so a lot of patience and repeat shots are required.
If you have a question about technical details of my photographs please send me an email and I will try to help as much as I can. Best regards, Mark.
