Little details vs wide sceneries

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Written by

Scientist and artist exploring the beauty and magic of nature

2 years ago

In community: Just Write(e5e5)

Topics: Photography, Nature, Forest

Some personality tests ask you if you are more of a detail-oriented person or more into seeing the big picture. I find it difficult to reply. I am a bit of both and neither at once. The big picture is more intimidating but taking care of all possible details is a daunting task. I often get carried away in a few small details and forget about the big picture and the rest of the details...

My weirdness aside, I usually prefer closeup photography, though when using a phone camera, landscapes tend to be more successful.

I prefer the previous photo more than the following two of the gentle leaves of oxalis, also called wood sorrel [1]. Despite the shape, these are not clovers. Another interesting fact is that they contain oxalic acid, hence the name. There are claims that the sour taste makes you feel less thirsty, but so far, I have not tried it.

A phone camera simply cannot deliver the shallow depth of field that I expect in my photos. Occasionally, that works okay as with these lichens. Lichens are an interesting combination of fungi and algae that have evolved over the millennia such that they can no longer live separately. Biologists call this process symbiosis. Still, the two components of the lichen have their own DNA.

Paths make good photographic subjects. I have way too many photos of that kind, but I just cannot resist them. This was at the beginning of the trail.

And these two came a bit later.

Further down the road, there were many majestic old pines. The tree is so tall that the perspective shrinks its top and makes it look a bit funny.

Under the pines, there are lots of moss and blueberries. In autumn, their leaves turn bright red. The contrast was beautiful against the endless green of the moss.

Nearby, there was a side path going through the forest. It was not part of the official walking trail, so I skipped it. But of course, I could not resist capturing it in a photo. It feels like a fairytale forest.

But as I said, it is worth looking towards the ground as well, so you can find some small details - such as these pretty orange mushrooms.

When I was about to get up, I noticed a small moving black thing. It was a really fluffy and soft caterpillar, likely Phragmatobia fuliginosa [2]. There have been lots of these this year. On that same day, I saw three more of them.

I continued further on and reached a sort of cliff where one could glimpse a lake behind the trees.

I headed back towards my car, and just before I reached the end of the trail, I noticed some extremely small mushrooms. The birch leaf behind them looks absolutely huge.