by Editor Lourens Durand 
Edited and published by Yvette Depaepe, the 22nd of March 2024

'Heart' by Patrick Foto

As artists and photographers, we go to great lengths to study composition and then play with the arrangement of our works trying to manufacture pleasing geometric effects by using leading lines, S-curves, circles, squares, triangles, patterns, V-shapes, Fibonacci Theory, Rule of Thirds and Dynamic Symmetry.

Yet, if we dare to take a stroll outside and take a close look at nature, all these effects are there, naturally - a stroll into a landscape, through the woods, along a beach will reveal a multitude of naturally occurring, highly photograph-able, geometric shapes and patterns.

Some of these may be hidden or obscure, but scrutiny will uncover a whole new world in the miniature.

Here are some examples:

• S-curves along rivers in landscapes, meandering between triangular-shaped mountains beneath puffy clouds of changeable forms
• There may be a sunset, with the circular orb of the sun highlighting rivers lined with trees that may be circular, semi-circular, or triangular in silhouette
• There may be light rain or dewdrops that form a kaleidoscope hanging from leaves or spiderwebs
• Closer inspection of the leaves themselves will reveal intricate geometric patterns formed by their veins
• You may come across a beehive, with its hexagonal patterns, or the slimy trail of a snail, with its logarithmic spiral shape
• Observe the shapes, number, and orientation of plant petals
• If you are lucky, you may be able to make out the variety of spots, shapes, and colourings of butterflies flitting about, or the intriguing pattern of the shell of a tortoise ambling along, or a curled-up worm in a Fibonacci spiral
• Take time to cut open almost any fruit to reveal a unique display of geometrical shapes.

Wherever you look, you will find symmetry.
So, take a break, take time to explore these hidden secrets of nature – you never know what you may discover.

Here is a selection of works of 1X.com photographers that illustrate the wonders of geometry in nature.

Lourens Durand

'Leaf' by Emerald Wake

'Swallowtail' by Jimmy Hoffman

'Blue charade' by Chris Hamilton

'Captured red' by Takashi Suzuki

'Overlapping' by Elizabeth Allen

'Duet' by Jimmy Hoffman

'Good morning autumn' by SUNTARAK SAOWANEE

'Sunflowers' by Alfonso Novillo

'Morning Singer' by Yanny Liu

'Bruco pavone' by Roberto Aldrovandi

'Bogda and Snow Lotus' by Hua Zhu

'Cecropia' by Jimmy Hoffman

'Dying Leaf' by Aleš Klabus

'Still Life With A Calla' by Lenka

'The lightness of the butterfly...' by Thierry Dufour

'Coenagrion puella' by Dusan Beno

'The rollercoaster...' by Thierry Dufour

'The Beauty of a Small World' by Abdul Gapur Dayak

'spin turtle' by Sergi Garcia

'a Lone Snail on a Mushroom' by Andri Priyadi

'Snail – With You' by Andri Priyadi

'Succulent' by Victor Mozqueda

'Through the window' by Miles Morgan

'Vortex Blossom' by Bruno Militelli

'Millions' by Leyman

'Ecological aerial vehicle...' by Thierry Dufour

'Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea)' by Pedro Jarque Krebs