Grapevine Leaves
Grapevine Leaves
I photographed these grapevine leaves today, from their underside, with the sunlight behind them (on top of the leaf), on the opposite side of the camera, turning the leaves into a partly translucent body. Spending time composing this shot and getting the lighting and composition just to my liking, caused me to reflect on what amazing things leaves are!
The function of leaves is to convert the sun's energy via a process called photosynthesis, into carbohydrates (sugars) that feed and sustain the plant. They absorb light and carbon dioxide (which causes global warming) and turn it into food for the plant to grow and thrive.
Here are some interesting facts about leaves that I found on the BBC Science website:
- Leaves are the source of ALL the worlds food!
- Leaves recycle ALL of the world's carbon dioxide!
- Leaves contain the world's most abundant enzyme - Ribulose bis-phosphate carboxylase (RuBisCO) - which catalyses the first step of the photosynthesis process
Brings back memories of undergraduate Biochemistry!
As to the photography - this was taken with my trusty and much loved Olympus Pen EP-3, using an Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm f2.8 macro lens, with an exposure bracket of +/- 2 EV at 200 ISO and the resultant images combined to produce an HDR image.
Grapevine Leaves – Jürgen Strauss Photography