capturing color

I am still playing and experimenting with our new dehydrator. I started using it mostly to quickly generate teaching materials for my workshops. But I am finding that it drying my specimens in interesting ways, especially if I have it set to a low heat. It seems to be locking in more color than if I had let the leaves or flowers dry naturally (usually hung upside down in the garage). If the heat gets too high, I get the opposite effect––I essentially crisp everything to a dull brown. These smoke bush leaves (one of my favorite leaves for STILL compositions) were picked this week, and then dried for a couple days in the dehydrator. I love how the drying process seems to have amplified the colors that were starting to turn; sort of like concentrating flavors by roasting your tomatoes in the oven for 45 minutes. That tomato reference made me hungry, and I am now realizing these leaves look delicious enough to eat!

dried early autumn smoke bush leaves (Cotinus)

P.S. Yesterday’s image was cutleaf teasel leaves (Dipsacus laciniatus)