Peter Richards /// Artist

Maple leaf, fall 2018.

There's a story behind this picture. Sure, you think, you saw a leaf on the ground and took its picture. True.

But this is not the first leaf. A few years ago I saw a different leaf, of a different species, in a different season. It was laying out in the mist like this one, festooned with tiny globes of moisture much like this one.

Thinking it beautiful (despite some bruising on its supple green surface) I bent down, held my then-new camera phone up to it and snapped the shutter on an image much like this one.

I've kept that image in my phone ever since, but not because I loved it any more or less than the thousands of other pictures I've taken (including lots more leaves). Unfortunately, I can't show you that leaf.

The reason I kept it is because that photo alone, out of thousands, got corrupted somehow. I can still view it on my phone; but I can't edit it, upload it, or save it to another device.