Over the past 60 years, “Corn Cleavers” have gone from prolific to nearly extinct across the UK. Intensive uses of herbicides and the removal of field margins are causing its demise.
fortunately, Northern Portugal is a very happy place for this plant to prosper. Roadsides and giant deserted properties (of which Portugal has scandalously high quantity) provide safe haven.
Corn Cleavers are soft and delicate. Their tiny roots are “barely there.” A mere brush against the plant may cause the roots to pop out and the plant to flop over.
Livestock loves it.
One very cold January afternoon, I was returning from a hike in the nearby mountains when this tiny sprout caught my attention. Because it was on a fenced bluff above me, it was at eye level. The late afternoon sun illuminated the stem, the whorls (where many leaves protrude from one place), and the bud, creating yellows and greens that looked as though they’d been illuminated by a prism. (As a practice, I do not edit colors. This is precisely how the plant looked!)
Even the tiny hairs seemed to be glowing.
I decided this humble sprout must be captured. It was calling out to me from a field of random weeds, and I felt I had no choice but to respond.
But there was a problem. It was at least 1½ meters from me even if I shoved my camera against the fence. From every angle, the shot contained parts of that fence, Meanwhile, my lens simply would not fit through the holes.
It required an absurd amount of maneuvering; my tripod could not help me. But before the glow of that sunset disappeared, I found one angle where the fence could not derail the shot!
Normally I seek an extremely dark background so the subject can have its own “stage.” I appreciat the way the tiniest details can “pop” out of the dark. But here, I found the dark green background and “boke” (out-of-focus) stalk on the right serve only to frame the sprout.
I am aware I have the evening sun to thank for that. It is the specific illumination only a sunset can provide that glorifies this little plant.
Over the past 60 years, “Corn Cleavers” have gone from prolific to nearly extinct across the UK. Intensive uses of herbicides and the removal of field margins are causing its demise.
fortunately, Northern Portugal is a very happy place for this plant to prosper. Roadsides and giant deserted properties (of which Portugal has scandalously high quantity) provide safe haven.
Corn Cleavers are soft and delicate. Their tiny roots are “barely there.” A mere brush against the plant may cause the roots to pop out and the plant to flop over.
Livestock loves it.
One very cold January afternoon, I was returning from a hike in the nearby mountains when this tiny sprout caught my attention. Because it was on a fenced bluff above me, it was at eye level. The late afternoon sun illuminated the stem, the whorls (where many leaves protrude from one place), and the bud, creating yellows and greens that looked as though they’d been illuminated by a prism. (As a practice, I do not edit colors. This is precisely how the plant looked!)
Even the tiny hairs seemed to be glowing.
I decided this humble sprout must be captured. It was calling out to me from a field of random weeds, and I felt I had no choice but to respond.
But there was a problem. It was at least 1½ meters from me even if I shoved my camera against the fence. From every angle, the shot contained parts of that fence, Meanwhile, my lens simply would not fit through the holes.
It required an absurd amount of maneuvering; my tripod could not help me. But before the glow of that sunset disappeared, I found one angle where the fence could not derail the shot!
Normally I seek an extremely dark background so the subject can have its own “stage.” I appreciat the way the tiniest details can “pop” out of the dark. But here, I found the dark green background and “boke” (out-of-focus) stalk on the right serve only to frame the sprout.
I am aware I have the evening sun to thank for that. It is the specific illumination only a sunset can provide that glorifies this little plant.
