wild prairie man's photostream  

While looking through some old books I won as school prizes in grade four, I was amazed to find some pressed leaves. I put them there more than 50 years ago, and forgot about them. Some were almost perfectly preserved, like this maple - perhaps Silver Maple? - leaf. From Bois-des-Filion, Quebec, circa 1959 or 1960. A gift from my boyhood self.

Setup: simple as can be. I used my coffee table as a mini stage, held the leaf in place with an alligator clip, framed an off-white wall as background, and shot with a 105mm macro lens, tripod, cable release, mirror lockup, and natural light.

Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.
© James R. Page - all rights reserved.

While looking through some old books I won as school prizes in grade four, I was amazed to find some pressed leaves. I put them there more than 50 years ago, and forgot about them. Some were almost perfectly preserved, like this poplar leaf. From Bois-des-Filion, Quebec, circa 1959 or 1960. A gift from my boyhood self.

Setup: simple as can be. I used my coffee table as a mini stage, held the leaf in place with an alligator clip, framed a dark wall as background, and shot with a 105mm macro lens, tripod, cable release, mirror lockup, and natural light.

Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.
© James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Yesterday I did a tabletop shoot rather than my usual field work. I started with the theme of books - something I love - and ended with some old, pressed leaves that unexpectedly fell out of one of my books. As for this trio of very old books, the Shakespeare - or "Shakspere" - has been in my family since at least 1869, the date inscribed within. The other two were school prizes that my grandfather was awarded in 1894 and 1895, for English and General Excellence.

Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.
© James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Here is a portion of the front cover of a book my grandfather won as a school prize in Scotland in 1895. They don't make 'em like this anymore!

I read it as a kid. As I recall, it consists of adventures of boys in an English public school, who "play Indians" and get into various kinds of trouble. It seemed antiquated to me at the time, and very unlike the sorts of books I was reading then - Hardy Boys mysteries, dog stories, and so on.

Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.
© James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Inscription inside "Fifty Celebrated Men", a book my grandfather won as a school prize in Scotland in 1894. I tried to read it as a kid, but it was far beyond my ability. Might be interesting today...

Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.
© James R. Page - all rights reserved.