I enjoy macro work with lichens, mosses, liverworts, and plants in general, and found this miniature scene in an area of very wet and dense bush beside a small mountain river. I see it as a growing tree surrounded by others of a different species within a dense forest. But in this case, it is very small, with a leafy liverwort surrounded by Dicranolona moss. It is often difficult to differentiate between leafy liverworts and mosses, but in general the leafy mosses have no central leaf veins (in case that is of any interest!).
Specific Feedback Requested
Any comments are very welcome. I realise that such macro scenes have limited general appeal, but I was attracted to this one because of its nature as a miniature version of a dense forest.
Technical Details
1/200s, f16, ISO320
M4/3 60mm macro
Very slight crop, PS to fill in some shadows and Topaz DeNoise AI to reduce noise in the shadows and sharpen slightly.
I love it. Recently I bought a field guide type book about liverworts and mosses since my other moss ID book didn’t include them. I really should make an effort to photograph them more.
You’re right about the mini forest nature of mosses like this. Nice detail here. I found myself studying the nooks and crannies for spiders or springtails, but didn’t see any. The sidelight is nice and I wonder if a bit of work with some luminosity or color masks could bring out more contour and modeling in this tiny landscape. Something worth trying for sure. I also might have a go with trying to separate the yellower green from the bluer green shades.
Forest in miniature is a very good title, Phil. In fact, my first thought was that this wasn’t macro! Too funny. Excellent look at the small world of moss.
A great little scene! I like a lot this type of images where a small world is revelaed in such a way we normally do not see it. Great composition, colors and light.
