Savannah, 2026

The first thing I noticed was the richness and variety of color in this small leaf, about palm-sized. It was under a canopy of much larger caladium leaves in my deck container garden, and I started thinking of how to photograph it.

It wasn’t until later that I saw the circle of life piece, where the lifespan of this leaf is visible, from top to bottom, in one moment.

But, before that….

I understood I needed a light tent to get soft, even, diffused light, and to remove any distracting ground. I tried to remember what white, translucent material I had that would work, and then what to use for a stable frame to hold the fabric over, under, and around the leaf.

Then I thought, wouldn’t it be nice to have something like that setup all the time, in a little corner of the office, so I could quickly pick up any small object and shoot it immediately.

Well, in that case, I should build something perfect, and with some flexibility. Just before pulling out my drafting board to start designing some working plans, I remembered the little leaf. It would not wait for my design/construction scheme.

I don’t know where it came from, but “mixing bowl” popped into my head, and I got the biggest one we had in the kitchen. Leaf in bowl, bowl in some open shade, I got the soft light, and the simple ground.

As I was finishing I remembered: Edward Weston, from my personal Photography Pantheon, made his famous “Pepper #30” photograph by placing the pepper in a large tin funnel, laying on its side. Great minds, or, more likely, he planted a seed.

For more of Bill’s photographs, go to https://www.billdurrence.com/index