Last Year’s Oak Leaves, with Shadows
A deluge of dried oak leaves seemed to appear suddenly on the sidewalks of my retirement community last month. I was puzzled until I remembered that some oak leaves don’t fall off their trees until spring. Walking home one day I noticed that the late afternoon sun had picked out the leaves in a delightful way. I went inside and grabbed the camera. Entranced with the leaves that seemed to dance across the cement even when they were still, I wasn’t aware of the shadows right away. They turned out, I think, to be important elements of these photographs, some of which I took the next morning.
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Romancing Reality 
if you look at the shadows upside down they’re like shadow theater
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April 20, 2025 at 9:21 PM
I’m glad you had fun with these, my dear Anonymous.
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April 21, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Wonderful shadowplay, Linda!
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April 21, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Anonymus?.. It was me. 🙂
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April 21, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Thank you, Harrie. And thanks for telling me you aren’t anonymous. 🙂
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April 21, 2025 at 3:16 PM
The shadows! What a panoply of mythical creatures! I loved these, Linda. As always, you draw the viewer’s attention to what is ‘special’ about the ‘obvious’. Many thanks for your work.
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April 21, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Several people have seen the shadows as monsters. I’ll take mythical creatures; it’s a friendlier interpretation. Thanks for your lovely comment, Kathy.
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April 21, 2025 at 3:19 PM
I think these are from Pin Oak trees. They were very common in MN but not so much here in Webster (Where Life is Worth Living). Your compositions and use of light and shadow on all of these is really very nice. And it’s great to hear from you again!
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April 21, 2025 at 8:53 AM
My resident botanist agrees with you about the pin oaks, Ken. Interesting that you knew them in Minnesota. Our counselors at Camp Hickory Hill in Wisconsin only taught us the leaves of the red, white, and black oaks. You’d think pin oaks would be there, too. Maybe there just weren’t any on the property. Anyway, glad you like these photographs. Wish I could spend more time blogging.
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April 21, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Those shadows are more than important – they steal the show in many of these photos. It’s fun seeing them all together. They still strike me as very playful, though I think one can read them as serious compositions about shape and texture and light as well. I like your introduction, too.
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April 25, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Anonymous this time = Lynn. 😉
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April 25, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Nice going. Shadows are indeed a gift to photographers, and dried leaves gave you an ample supply.
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May 8, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Thanks, Steve. Shadows are indeed a gift—sometimes a gift I’d rather do without. But shadows in the wrong place at least show that the sun is shining.
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May 8, 2025 at 7:29 PM