U Is For Unusual

With Fronds Like This, Who Needs Enemies?

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I’d never seen a palm tree with fronds of any colour except dark green - until I suddenly spotted this tree in Langkawi, Malaysia. We were exploring the town when I saw this unusual sight across the road.

At first I thought it might have been a single albino tree, but then I realised it was ringed by three or four others. They were not fully mature trees, for unlike the towering palms that I’m accustomed to seeing, these would not have been more than five or six metres tall.

I figured I needed a dark colour in the frame, to contrast the ghostly colour of the fronds. I was lucky. On the other side of the trees was a construction area. I scouted around from a safe distance and noticed this blue corrugated metal barricade, which was perfect for what I wanted.

But if there’s an arborist out there who can tell us something about these ghost palms, I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Or maybe the rare sight could be explained by a palm reader.

For the home of ABC Wednesday, go to Mrs Nesbitt's Place.

Square Route

Biggest Draughts Board I've Ever Seen

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

While geometry never really held a major fascination for me in school, geometrical shapes certainly catch my eye now that I am a photographer. I shot this picture (above) on Monday and composed the frame so that there was not a hint of what the subject was. The second frame, (below) shows you that it is actually a four-storey protective wrap-around on a construction site. And don't be fooled by the blue sky. It' s still winter here and while the temperature was a mild 12 Celsius, the wind was icy!

FOOTNOTE: Farewell, Leicester squares.

Click here: Pentax K100D, Shutter speed 1/250, F11, ISO speed 200.