Sago Palm in black and white [photography]
A couple of weeks ago the family and I went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. As we approached the front door, we passed by this young, dying/dead Sago palm which was sitting off in a corner all alone. The moment I saw it I knew I had to come back with my camera and capture it on film my SD card. I hate to admit it but, I thought about this plant, and its resulting images, for days…yes, days, and I was going to be so upset if it wasn’t there when I went back. I guess I have the mind of a true photographer.
My wife and I used to have a Sago palm, also known as Cycas revoluta, at our old house. It sat right outside our front door and I never once thought about turning it into a photographic subject. Ours, like this one, eventually died probably because we never watered it in the summer and we never brought it inside during the winter.
The Sago palm is actually not a palm at all. According to Wikipedia, they are Cycads and are very primitive in their origins with some of them having changed very little over the last 200 million years ago yet, I’ve managed to kill one and find a dead one. Go figure. They are still an impressive plant with a rich history. It’s also fascinating to feel connected to such a plant that has been on this Earth far longer than you, your house, and almost anything else you can imagine.
I would love to go back and shoot this plant again and I’d love the opportunity to capture it with a large format camera. This photo was taken at dusk, hand-held, and I was barely able to get this shot without significant camera shake (ISO was around 1600 to get a fast enough shutter speed). It didn’t help that it was freezing cold outside, snowing, and I had no gloves on. Note: plan better next time.
