And I’m convinced God also designed them so that no one could ever do them justice by means of a photograph. You have to be there, close to the earth, sitting on a fallen log at the edge of the wet meadow, to full appreciate them.
Early on as they first emerge and uncoil in their singular fiddlehead fashion, they hide among the jumble of leaf litter and fallen branches from spring’s last ice storm, camouflaged among the distracting flotsam of the forest floor. You’ll not likely find that one composition in all the forest where two or three tiny fiddleheads of Christmas Fern stand in the same plane, illumined against a black backdrop of shadow.
Later on, the Royal Fern and Cinnamon Ferns will shoot up in a matter of days to a ridiculous ratio of height to width so that you see them whole only from fifteen feet away or more, and lose all their divinely-inspired fanciness of detail. They are creatures you have to see complete and in place to imbibe their intricate beauties.
But I’m going to keep trying with my lens. So expect more less-than-heavenly fern pix in the next two weeks–if I’m not embarrassed to show you–and maybe if the gods smile, I’ll finally get a fern portrait I’m happy with.
Well, this photo of a fern made me happy.
Yes, I’m very happy with this one, Fred. Why aren’t you?
This one would be fine for biology class. But there’s a grace, a form, an artfulness to ferns that is far more difficult to capture.
I can’t say exactly what I want, but will now it when/if I capture it!
i think it’s a great capture, too. they look like coiled caterpillars standing on their hind legs. 🙂
Down here in my neck of the woods we seldom see this sight. Our ferns are uncurling under the still green fronds from last year…
Came here from Bluemountainmama’s blog….beautiful pics . loved this one especially…..