Today, I am going back to Nature for this installment of Wednesday Wonderment, as she is a source of immeasurable variety, beauty and amazement.
This amazing leaf was in a tropical greenhouse at the Botanical Garden of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. This botanical garden is both a fantastic exhibit to visit and see plants from a variety of biomes, and a research facility for the students of the University of Technology. During our visit, a group of students was working with a professor to study soil characteristics, which was interesting to watch.
One of the aspects of Nature that continually grabs my attention are the structures that make up plants, leaves and trees; the distribution of strength in support of the energy production machinery is sheer perfection. Even today, when I look at this image, there are little details such as the feathering of the lamina between the lateral veins; it might be indicative of the flow of energy and fluid through the leaf.
Each of these details have evolved over the ages, as successful function edged out other variants by the thinnest of margins. It would be amazing to see the entire book of variations over the ages, as that would provide insight beyond anything that we have ever possessed.
Technical Details
This image was captured with a Canon EOS 5D Mk III and a 24-105 f/4L lens. Settings were f/5.6 at 1/320 second with ISO 1000. The image was processed using the camera’s HDR capability.
Hope you enjoy this leaf, as much as I do.
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