Tom Leighton is a self-taught photographer based in the United Kingdom who specializes in capturing the beauty of nature and the environment through his lens. His work primarily focuses on botanical specimens, including leaves, flowers, stems, and seedpods, and often features close-up shots that highlight the details and textures of his subjects. This year, he released another of his many amazing works, titled 'Fabled Gardens II'. Have any idea what varieties and species these pictures might show? Read on to see the photographs yourself.
Tom Leighton's Fluorescent Life Through Photographs
Tom Leighton's photographic series have always been a big wow to his audience, mainly because he knows how to capture the exact details and differentiations under fluorescent lighting scenarios. Leighton focuses on plants—some of which he grows in his garden and others farther afield—and examines what humans might have been able to see if our night vision had evolved. Fabled Gardens II focuses predominantly on giant rhubarb, ferns, and rhododendrons, underlining the incredible patterns and layers of leaves, fronds, and flowers.
At first glance, the images in the series appear almost abstract, with swathes of color and patterns. But, upon closer inspection, one can see the detail and precision with which Leighton captures and illuminates each one in a special way. Veiny leaves all the way to velvety textures show how each element is rendered in stunning clarity, highlighting the characteristics of each species.
Tom Leighton Uses Colors to Create Depth
When it comes to foliage, there’s a reason it’s called 'greenery'. However, for Cornwall-based photographer Tom Leighton, common plants take on otherworldly dimensions when rendered in unexpected colors.
Leighton's photographs stress what he calls the 'forces that shape the natural world', using light and color to depict dynamic biological processes such as photosynthesis, reproduction, growth, and death. The photographs feature a palette of greens, blues, pinks, and purples, which are layered and blended to create a sense of movement and deepness. In some images, the colors appear almost painterly, with broad strokes of pigment giving way to finer details and textures.
Leighton's use of lighting is another defining characteristic not only of this new series but in all his work. Many of the images feature a soft, diffused light that seems to emanate from within the plants themselves, lending them a luminous quality. This effect is particularly noticeable in the images that feature translucent leaves or petals, which seem to glow from within.
Natural Forms Through Leighton's Lens
Tom shares more of why he loves his career and what he does:
"Plants inspire us to look more closely at the world around us and to appreciate the subtlety of them besides the beauty that can be found in even the most unexpected places."
Leighton has turned very specifically to design in nature - and the invitation here might be to contrast the power inherent in the construction, with a sense of its impermanence. Again his observation is careful and questioning. He enhances, manipulates, and abstracts, focusing people's attention on the detail of a leaf, the layering of feathers in flight, or the implied volcanic force that has created a tower of rock at the edge of the sea. This work, like his cityscapes, is beautiful and surprising, and, like them, carries a mark of the surreal.
You can discover more of his series and enjoy photographic art on Tom Leighton's website.
Photos by @tomleightonart.
