Visual and tactile textures provide details, assist us in separating one object from another and enhance our experience of the world.  In photography, texture can visually add dimension and give the viewer an appreciation for a subject’s unique characteristics and appearance. 

Lunch for a 500 Pound TortoiseLunch for a 500 Pound Tortoise
Galapagos Tortoise
Galapagos, Ecuador

The bark of trees is rich in texture, and tree bark is one of the characteristics that scientists use to differentiate one tree from another. Intimate images of bark , leaves and other tree parts can expose beautiful patterns and details. 

Palm Bark Abstract

Mijabe Maple with Fall BackdropThe Morton Arboretum received this thriving Mijabe Maple from Japan.

Beautiful plants like ivy climb up interesting surfaces like stone and brick walls, and ferns decorate the woods and rock walls with their finely textured fronds.

Fern Patterns

The feathers of birds provide ever changing patterns as the feathers and bone structure beneath them align in repose and in flight.  Color, shape, size and position all contribute to the luscious texture and symmetry.

Bottoms Up!Bottoms Up!
Roseate Spoonbill preening at Little Estero Critical Wildlife Area, Fort Myers Beach, Florida

Preening at DawnGreat White Egret Preening at dawn
Little Estero Critical Wildlife Area
Fort Myers Beach, Florida

Turkey DisplayTurkey Display
Wild Male Turkey showing off
Cantigny Park and Gardens, Winfield, Illinois Kind of BlueKind of Blue
Peacock Feather Detail
Tucson Zoo, Tucson, Arizona Taking AimHummingbirds love Penstemon plants with their white pollen. This hummingbird already had a beak full of pollen when he went back for another helping.

Old wood, twisted by the elements, or impacted by insects or animals, can reveal its history in a single cross section or fallen log.  The viewer is left to imagine what forces contributed to its unique form and shape.

Golden Sunset Light on Old Wood

Earthly Artistry: Rock Designs and Weathered Wood of Southern Utah Worm Words and Thorns

Rock faces, weathered, pitted or smooth, reveal their mineral components and the effect of nature’s magnificent forces.

Sheer Rock Cuts in Sandstone at Zion National Park

Pebbles, rocks and boulders, smoothed or pocked by millions of years of crashing waves are deposited on beaches and distributed randomly, creating beautiful arrangements of color and texture.

River Stones from the Virgin RiverRiver stones in the Virgin River Zion National Park

Minerals and Rocks of Acadia National Park

Leaves Falling on Rocks and Water

Flower petals and plants create a limitless array of textural photographic possibilities exhibiting attributes of soft, spiky, prickly, smooth, bumpy, silky, curly and wavy textures among others.

Technicolor Kale Agave Close Up Saguaro Arm

Animals who live in the oceans and on the beach provide an array of colors and textures that are unavailable in other ecosystems.

Sea Star at DawnSea Star at dawn on Fort Myers Beach, Florida Cocina TreasureCocina shells at Fort Myers Beach, Florida

When texture is explored as a photographic medium, small details are revealed that can be overlooked in daily life, opening up new channels of discovery for the photographer and other visual explorers.