Collection: Textures

Collection: Textures
	Whenever I get the chance I take pictures of interesting textures. They make very nice patterns. Try using the small versions tiled across your desktop. I've divided the collection further into five themes: Leaves and trees Grain Stone, rock and gravel H₂O Moss
Click on the images to see larger versions.

Leaves
	9 November 2000, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire Let's start with something exotic - gingko leaves! Gingkos are a living prehistoric fossil, a tree that developed its current shape before evolution split trees into conifers and broad-leaved trees.

	2 June 2002, Tilden Park, California The fleshy leaves of this dudleya, are cool to the touch even in the afternoon sun.

	30 March 2001, Borgo Pace, Italy A composite texture of leaves, flowers and the fuzzy body of a bumblebee. The plant is a red dead-nettle, Lamium purpurem, so you can touch the leaves without fear.

	29 October 2000, Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire These narrow leaves come from pollarded willows along the Oxford Canal.

	22 October 2000, Great Shefford, Hampshire Maples are often planted because of their vibrant autumn colours. This one is a case in point.

	12 November 2000, Hawridge, Buckinghamshire Crisp, crimped beech leaves in the Chilterns. I liked them so much I took three different pictures of them.

	23 December 2001, Cookley Green, Oxfordshire Frost on an oak leaf melts at your touch.

	26 May 2001, Leith Hill, Surrey These beech leaves are still attached to the tree. In fact they are still pretty new. That's why they are so shiny and light green in colour.

	28 May 2001, Hambledon, Surrey Hazel and beech leaves share a superficial similarity. But when seen together it is obvious that the hazel leaves are much more pliable and less shiny.

	3 June 2001, Leith Hill, Surrey The underside of these hornbeam leaves is a pleasant silvery colour. The raised veins make the surface feel like a miniature washboard.

	26 May 2001, Leith Hill, Surrey In a few months time these oak leaves are going to be much darker and tougher.

	23 December 2001, Cookley Green, Oxfordshire Bark is very different from leaves, much harder. But the left lip of the depression is smooth and warm in the wintersun.

	16 April 2000, Wendover, Buckinghamshire The bark on an oak tree makes for a hard and rough texture.

	13 April 2001, Black Downs, Surrey The needles are soft underfoot but I wouldn't want to be barefoot when I step on the pine cone.

Grain	Back to top
	25 June 2000, Barford St. Michael, Oxfordshire The grain ripples gently in the wind.

	2 September 2001, Farnborough, Berkshire This grain is ripe. It's so heavy the ears are bent and if you touch it, it's going to feel very stiff.

	25 June 2000, Barford St. Michael, Oxfordshire A close-up of another type of grain. Very green, very serene.

	8 July 2001, Christmas Common, Buckinghamshire In this picture the contrast between two different kinds of grain can be seen very clearly.

	15 July 2001, Pishill, Buckinghamshire The sunwarm straw had a very characteristic scent. When I stroked parallel to the straws, it felt hard and smooth.

	30 July 2000, Broughton, Oxfordshire When the cereal has been harvested, stubble fields remain. We're moving onto much rougher textures now.

	22 October 2000, Great Shefford, Hampshire Seen from further away, the stubble field looks a lot like corduroy. But it will still resist when you tread down on it.

Stone	Back to top
	9 September 2000, Chinnor, Buckinghamshire Smooth and cold tiles from the front porch of the church in Saunderton.

	15 November 2001, Alhambra, Spain These stucco inscriptions were created by Moorish artisans. They are cool and soft to the touch. Even after all these years the relief is sharp.

	9 September 2000, Chinnor, Buckinghamshire A half smooth, half uneven surface. The outside of Saunderton church has been pebble-dashed. These are flintstones that are split to reveal the smooth inner surface.

	10 March 2001, Colchester, Essex A Roman mosaic shows a much more controlled composite surface.

	3 March 2001, St. Albans, Hertfordshire This church wall is rougher again with its mix of split pebbles and Roman tiles.

	17 December 2000, Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire The parish church of Woburn had a well-kept gravel path outside it.

	26 February 2000, The Rollrights, Oxfordshire One of the Neolithic Whispering Knights at the Rollright monument. It's a very rough, pockmarked surface.

	11 February 2002, Sunol Regional Wilderness, California A mixture of lichen, moss and bare rock.

H₂O	Back to top
	23 December 2001, Cookley Green, Oxfordshire Alternating rows of frozen ground and ice make for a varied tactile experience of rough and smooth with occassional ridges and sharp-edged holes. There are many more ice photos on the page.

	13 January 2001, Stokenchurch, Buckinghamshire The ice in this puddle has frozen but some of the brown leaves are sticking up, making for a surface that is alternately smooth and knobbly.

	26 December 2001, Middle Assendon, Oxfordshire A composite texture of ice sludge, sharp-edged ice cubes and gravel on a sunny day.

	30 December 1999, Horner Hill, Devon A Devon road of flintstones is covered with running water. Wet socks.

	28 April 2001, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire The water in the Glyme just after the Grand Cascade is still unruly.

Moss	Back to top
	13 January 2001, Stokenchurch, Buckinghamshire This frozen moss is cold and crunchy under my hand. The grey lumps are worm castings.

	26 February 2000, The Rollrights, Oxfordshire More moss but this time not frozen. An old stone wall covered with green moss is soft and damp to the touch but hard inside.

	8 December 2001, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire This moss had nothing but soil beneath it so it was both soft and bouncy.

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