Leaves and flowers have a dynamic life – if you have time to watch. Taking photographs over a period of time and making a movie is one way to begin to appreciate the stages leaves and flowers pass through. Elizabeth Wylde created a movie of the budburst of a Silver Maple – the first stage of a flower.
This movie was made using QuickTime Pro, which is the $30 extended version of the freely available Apple QuickTime. See the instructions to make such a movie.
Silver maple budburst - timelapse
Tips:
Put a blank piece of cardboard, possibly white or light gray, behind the leaf to make it easier to see the leaf
Consider writing the date on the cardboard or adding the date to each picture using image processing software
Stand on the same side of the leaf to take pictures
Try to take pictures during the same time of day to keep the light angle as constant as possible
Mark your leaf with a colored piece of string gently wrapped around the stem.
