On a cold Sunday morning, I am in the Gentbrugse meersen, looking for what nature has to offer. It has been freezing, there is a bleak wind and the grasslands look like a desolate wasteland. There seems to be no fodder for photographers in sight.
But my gaze falls on the frozen surface of the stream. This is covered with the floating leaves of mannagrass, a grass that can cover entire bodies of water from its banks. Outside the water it forms erect culms, but in the water the stems tend to hang from the floating leaves.
As its name suggests, the seeds are edible and even sweet, like the manna that was a gift from God to feed the people of Israel during their 40-year trek through the desert to the promised land. The grass has been considered a wild cereal since ancient times, and grains were still eaten as a kind of gorte porridge until the 18th century. It was the food of the poor, nutritious and healthy.
Striking similarities with the manna from the Bible are further that it can be made into dough and must be harvested at dew, as wet seeds stick together and are easier to collect.
Then again, the patterns of floating leaves are enough to feed my photography hunger. I start playing around with exposure times and movement, and the contrasts between leaf and ice make for beautiful shades of colour. I just can't get enough, despite the cold. Now that is a godsend!
Maarten is a passionate hobby photographer with an eye for the world of the small. On his weekly blog www.natuurvertelsels he brings a new short story with facts and pictures about nature right in front of your nose every Sunday. He has already won numerous photo competitions with his images.. Read more…