Steve Francis
Pushing on through the Mediterranean biome, it’s hard not to be amazed by the sheer range of plants and flowers on display. Indeed, having flora from four continents (Europe. South Africa, North America and Australia) under one roof instead of spread around the world is pretty impressive and certainly works wonders for one’s carbon footprint.
And it was while touring South Africa, from our vantage point in far-away Cornwall, that Steve’s attention was drawn to a massive bush of whorled restio, a reed-like dioecious (separate male and female plants) perennial.
“It dominated the scene but the background light was fairly bright,” he recalls. “So I had the idea to shoot a ‘pattern’ shot through these grass heads – keeping one in focus and then letting the rest form the pattern. Later, while converting the raw files and making my initial adjustments in Photoshop Elements, I thought this image would work better in black and white.”
Expert opinion
We love the creative approach Steve has taken with this composition. Although your first impression is to flip the image upright to a vertical position, the strong lines it creates going in a horizontal orientation works far better for the overall feel of the photograph.
The black and white conversion has been executed to a high standard, eliminating any distractions that can be encountered by colour. So instead you can just study the shape and form of this plant.