Landscape textures of Western Idaho
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: Can You Feel the #Textures?

Texture can be a photographer’s dream as it adds to the composition of an image. Since photography is a visual medium, being able to capture texture is a skill. A variety of textures in a photograph can invoke all of our senses.

“One of the first things to consider when photographing texture is that the beauty is in the details.”

~ Jeff Guyer

Creature Textures

“A sense of beauty, perception, and the mathematical universe are all part of the same texture.” ~ Neeti Sinha

The soft textures of a female purple finch.

Female Purple Finch

An odd juxtaposition of textures in my parents’ Payson, Arizona neighborhood.

Wild elk surrounded by neighborhood

Although I miss Aero and shared his memory last week, I must give Brodie some air time. His curly brown coat is full of texture.

Brodie at dog-friendly restaurant
Brodie is so sleepy
Brodie surrounded by textures

Textures in Landscapes

“Living in a rural setting exposes you to so many marvelous things – the natural world and the particular texture of small-town life, and the exhilarating experience of open space.”
~ Susan Orlean

Landscape textures of Western Idaho
Layers of textures in Western Idaho

Sadly an inevitable California wildfire changed the texture of this area of the Sierra Nevada foothills just a quarter mile from where my dad lived.

View of Georgetown Divide after 2022 Wildfires
View of Georgetown Divide after 2022 Wildfires
Desert Sunrise
Textures of a desert sunrise near Scottsdale, Arizona

I couldn’t resist reposting this October moon for Denzil’s nature challenge. Lots of texture, right?

Moon shot

Nature’s Textures

“The photographer has almost as much control over his subject matter as a painter. He can control light and shade, form and space, pattern and texture, motion and mood, everything except composition.” — Andreas Feininger

textured leaves on the sidewalk
Ginkgo Leaf Carpet

Textures in photography feed our tactile perceptions. Even random weeds drying on the roadside have an interesting texture.

textured weeds

Nothing says Autumn more than a display of gourds.

Autumn gourd display
Autumn gourd display
Harvest Festival maple trees and pumpkin patch
Last on the Card Harvest Festival

Handmade Textures

Marsha at Always Write shared the theme of “rustic” and “weathered” for Wednesday Quotes last week. Capturing these elements in photography helps create textures for compelling images.

“Hygge is humble and slow, plain and simple. It is choosing rustic over new…”
― Meik Wiking

Rustic hook
Rustic hook at Ft. Vancouver

Autumn decor allows for a cozy mix of textures.

Cozy blanket Autumn Decor

A local elementary school decorated with a variety of textured flags.

Textures of autumn flags

“The past becomes a texture, an ambience to our present.”
~ Paul Scott

Inspiring Photo Challenges This Week

Each week I find inspiration from my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I enjoy incorporating these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes. I might have outdone myself this time 😊

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post.

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.

This Week’s Featured Bloggers

Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers, poets, and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who shared their photos of TEXTURES. I add these all week as new links are posted.

Come back and join me next week for the October Monthly Color Challenge when we look at colors of black, metallic, and/or seasonal black and white images.

rust brushstroke

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125 comments

  9. Such vivid and lovely colours in your photos this week, Terri. Those pumpkins sure look creepy, even in the daylight.
    It’s lovely to see Brodie featuring, too. The texture of his coat looks soft and cuddly. Does he like his cuddles?
    Those roadside weeds look so dry and brittle. It’s a shame to see the damage the wildfires did, but I hope things have returned quickly. Mother Nature usually works her magic when it happens.
    But the desert sunrise near Scottsdale, Arizona, photo caught my eye the most.
    My entry will be in today’s Wordless Wednesday post.
    Enjoy the rest of your week.

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    • Hi Hugh, thank you! Fall is such a great time to find textures of all kinds, and yes, Brodie is very soft and cuddly. My brother is about to move to a new house soon, that sunrise was framed by his huge picture window. I’m sure his new home will also have great vjews.

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  10. Such wonderful, wonderful textures. You managed to find such a variety of them for your post, in every thinkable way.
    It was kind of sad to see the photo of Georgetown divide, it is Georgetown California, right? I really like that place. I lived there for a while when my daughter was very young.

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    • Thank you, Maria. I must be drawn to textures 😁 The photo of the burned area is looking South toward the Georgetown Divide, from my vantage point in Michigan Bluff outside of Foresthill. So sad how much of the area burned.

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  29. I like all your images in this post about textures Terri, but my favorite is Brodie and his curly fur and those gourds with warts. I just went out for photos of gourds and came back with a few bumpy gourds as well. The Fall season is perfect for capturing textures inside and out and I also liked the yellow Ginkgo leaf with a drop of water on it.

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  32. Hi Terri, you’ve covered Texture so well in your posts with your descriptions plus your photos (obvs). I wish I’d read your post before doing mine in some ways because as I said in my post I struggled with it a bit but your words ‘Since photography is a visual medium, being able to capture texture is a skill. A variety of textures in a photograph can invoke all of our senses.’ makes complete sense!! Your photos included in the post are perfect examples of that, so many thanks for helping a girl out – after the event!!

    The texture of a trail for #SundayStills

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  34. What good theme Terri and your photos are quite inspirational. I love warty pumpkins. A very Autumn feel for your Last Photo and so many challenges in one post!!. Thanks for joining in 🙂 🙂

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  37. You have so many I love that I’m losing track! LOVE the belly feathers of the finch, and of course the curls in Brodie’s fur, and then the leaves with the water drop and the rod iron hook, oh and the pumpkins! Last year was the first year I saw bumpy pumpkins and I think I’m going to have to go get a few again this year to decorate with! Actually all your shots are wonderful!

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  38. You’ve got some beautiful textures, Terri. I love the ginko leaf. The Georgetown Divide was a stunning display as well as being so moving. Love seeing Brodie. Makes me miss PG and Little Aero. Moji is training herself to be a dog. She’s doing everything but barking at the door, these days. Have a great week. Talk to you soon. 🙂

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  45. Nature is so full of texture, and they change so quickly! From the softness of green grass swaying to the brittle brown of burned out fields.

    Which, BTW, I don’t mind wildfires if they’re nature’s idea, to regenerate. Not true if it’s man’s.

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  53. Terri, I loved your topic this week, and your presentation is outstanding. Texture is what makes the world an exciting place to live, isn’t it? From fabric to food, everything about texture invites us to explore. I think texture, followed by color is the first thing to capture my attention when out walking with my camera. I’m sure you probably feel that way too. Beautiful!

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  56. Yes, you outdid yourself with this one! Look at all those challenges combined into one post. We’ll done! I love the landscapes, the close-ups, and the Ginkgo Leaf Carpet with dewdrops. All of them are stunning in their own unique way. The moon…I’ve never captured a shot that well! Do tell, how did you do it? And sweet Brodie, his fur is so curly. I think your post did a great job of portraying Hygge throughout it too!! I hope you have a great week!

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    • Thank you so much, Shelley! The planets aligned this week for challenges! Some years ago, I became fascinated with close-up photography and really had fun with those ginkgo leaves. Not bad for an older cell phone shot then. As for the moon, I took a photography course when I still lived in Sacramento, and the photographer showed me how to capture moon shots with my Lumix. It was pure luck we had a full moon the night of class.

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