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June 21, 2007 : Laminaria setchellii
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Keywords: Laminariaceae | Laminaria setchellii Silva | Botanical Beach, Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada
I've mentioned in a previous BPotD entry that the waters of the northeast Pacific contain more species of kelp than anywhere else in the world. Today's photographs illustrate another member of that diverse group, southern stiff-stiped kelp (by the way, there are no search engine results for northern stiff-stiped kelp, so I think stiff-stiped kelp should suffice as a common name). Ecologically, this alga grows from the low intertidal zone on open rocky shores to complete submergence, where it can sometimes be an understory species in kelp forests.
Decew's Guide once again provides some background and references: Laminaria setchellii. The photo gallery at Algaebase provides a more conventional presentation of this species, if you'd like to investigate.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at June 21, 2007 12:00 AM
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Comments
Posted by: Katy S at June 21, 2007 12:18 AM
The kelp in the first photo especially, looks like a metal sculpture - WOW!! Fantastic abstracts!!!
Posted by: Laura at June 21, 2007 8:34 AM
Thanks - what I find interesting, though, is that the prominent abstraction here is how the photograph was framed. For the most part, it is a literal view - if you were to create a small window by placing the tip of your forefinger into the fold of skin between your forefinger and thumb, and then gazing through, this is what you would see.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at June 21, 2007 8:52 AM
Actually, Daniel, I think that the fact that it is essentially a literal view makes it additionally powerful. Too many people think "abstraction" is equivalent to some kind of human intervention and requires tricky camera-wiggling or (worse still) the application of Photoshop to achieve. In fact, the most stunning abstraction is simply a way of calling attention to what is right in front of us. That's what a lot of my artwork is about, and I get asked all the time about my "process:" people think the work has been digitally altered, when in fact my process is "film, light, camera, shoot, develop, print, period."
These are terrific images!
Posted by: E. Marie Robertson at June 21, 2007 9:27 AM
Beautifully composed. I'm enjoying this marine series.
Posted by: van at June 21, 2007 10:31 AM
It's great to see these photos of algae. Keep them coming--fascinating.
Posted by: Meg Bernstein at June 21, 2007 6:22 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
Superb images - I particularly like the first one.