Photographer reveals hidden symbols of love in nautre

Early last summer I noticed there are a lot of interesting shapes in nature. One that stood out was the traditional heart shape associated with love, romance and Valentine's Day. I spotted the implicit heart curve shape in clouds, tree trunks, and flowers. After taking more than 20 images of heart shapes in natural environments, I thought I had as many as I could possibly have.

I decided to check if other photographers were spotting hearts and taking pictures to post on the Internet. To my surprise I found there are more than 4,000 images of hearts in nature at flickr.com and more than 9,700 at images.google.com. So I took it as a challenge to photograph as many hearts in nature as I could before Valentine's Day 2010.

I found the traditional "heart shape" in water droplets, rocks, flowers and even winding vines. And to my surprise on a hot early September day I spotted a perfect heart shape created by a bug-eaten morning glory leaf. Once I started looking closer at leaves, I noticed that many bug-eaten holes in leaves are close to the heart shape. By mid summer I noticed the Turkish brown fig tree in my yard was producing deep reddish, purple heart-shaped figs.

Throughout the fall and early winter I spotted the heart shape mixed in with vibrant fall colors in leaves, dried flowers, and even in bird baths.

After it snowed in November I thought all the hearts in nature would be covered by a white blanket. However, within a few days I spotted the shape in ice, snow, and even my dog Sara Lee's paw print. So the project continued until I took a picture of snow hanging from a branch in the shape of a heart at Beck Lake Forest Preserve in Des Plaines.

So whether it is summer, spring, fall, or winter when you take a walk with your special Valentine, see if you can spot the heart shape in nature.

To see all the heart images I took throughout the last six months, visit the photo gallery at dailyherald.com. Pick a favorite and e-mail the link to your Valentine.

gleclaire@dailyherald.com

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