Finding Persimmoms

I think persimmons are the perfect fall fruit for California gardens. They are tough, disease free, delicious, and have reliably good fall foliage color. The trees are so prolific they can be hard to shape since the branches of young trees often break as the fruit gets heavy and matures, but once established, the they can become a focal point of the autumn garden.

I like these flat bottom Fuyu variety which stay crisp when they ripen, which means when my wife makes her famous persimmon pudding she has to go buy the soft ripening Hachiya. Our dog, Kona, likes persimmons too, ripe or not, and I let her thin out the low hanging fruit. As if I had a choice.

When I make a photograph of fruit on a tree, I like finding a cluster framed with foliage.

I like to think I am making a botanic illustration, and want to get tight enough so the fruit stands out, but loose enough to get a sense of the tree.

I always use a tripod in my work so I can carefully study the composition, in this case thinking about every leaf. It also allows me to find a good composition … and take out a few leaves.

Before and After Slider

Once I find the persimmon shot I really like, I can really have fun: making my own version of a botanic illustration, what I call a PhotoBotanic extraction.