Seeing The Hidden

The world’s a wondrous place inhabited by a bevy of plants—an extravagant array

When I began taking macro photographs I needed to hone in on details—focusing my lens forced me to really see tiny features I hadn’t noticed before.

How often do I see something without really seeing it—how often do I see a person without really seeing her?

It takes hard looking to gather the myriad parts—and even then it isn’t possible to gather together all aspects of a person. Who is this person? I may see one façade, but there are so many facets, so much history, and so many secrets.

Everything is so connected to a history. This is a photo of the underside of a Sunflower I bought at a farm market. One Sunflower sitting in a bucket of water—one dollar.

Who planted the flower? Who cut it down? I know the answer to the last question because I often see farm hands out in the fields. Do they live around here? Are they migrant workers?

How much do you pay workers who cut down Sunflowers and plant corn and vegetables?

I took my Sunflower home and set it up for macro shots of the multicolored center. The colors, like a Peacock’s feathers, appeared luminous. After the photos I placed the long stalked flower out on the deck to dry out.

Yesterday I turned it over and took photos of the underside. Only when looking through my macro lens did I realize that I wanted the tiny hairs in focus. That required really staring at those hairs.

I saw how they danced, intertwined, stood alone, clung to one another, formed groups, bent over, touched, and stood out as a shape among shapes.

Click the photos and enlarge in order to see all the details