Kawakawa
One perfect kawakawa leaf amongst its holey siblings, 400mm, f2.8, 1/60s, ISO 400, 0EV, #artofbirding2020 #aob2020week2
Some people dislike the holey nature of kawakawa (Piper excelsum), but I think it gives this under-rated native shrub some personality. Each leaf is uniquely carved out by the ever-hungry kawakawa looper moth caterpillar. The birds adore the fruit and I adore a nice cup of peppery Kawakawa Fire tea.
It's week 2 in the 2020 Art of Birding challenge, and it was a simple one - to get inspired by leafy greens. Though my apologies to our snowed-in Northern Hemisphere participants, who had much more of a challenge on their hands. I'm so glad many of you were able to uncover some evergreen leaves.
I love taking photos of leaves, and often use them in my art by overlaying them with textures and collaging them to make leaf arrangements. Two examples are:
Do you have a favourite leaf?
