Often (actually usually), I have no preconceived idea of what scene I’m going to photograph. If I’m visiting a waterfall, I know I’ll probably want to photograph it, but when hiking or driving down a country road, I try to stay open to whatever interesting scene presents itself to me.
In this photo, it was the curves, the texture, and the way the light was falling that drew my interest. Although I took the photo in color, I felt that removing the color more clearly brought out the elements that caught my attention in the first place. The sun’s rays were at a low angle relative to the fern, and the slightly curved leaflets “pointing” to the right were catching more light. Maybe (probably) it’s just me, but the luminosity of these leaflets brought to mind a vision of salmon leaping out of the water as they swim upstream to their spawning grounds, the sun glistening on their scales.
