A Monochrome Morning with Echium vulgare

This morning, while walking through the quiet trails near our home with my dog Imao, I stopped to take a portrait—not of a person, but of a plant. The subject: Echium vulgare, known as Viper’s Bugloss in English, or Gewöhnlicher Natternkopfin German.

I photographed it with my Leica Monochrom, a camera that captures only black and white. No color distractions—just light, texture, and form. What drew me in was the plant’s proud, spiky posture and the way the early light caught its fine hairs and ridged stems. In monochrome, it looks almost sculptural—raw and ancient.

There's something meditative about these quiet moments with the camera and my dog. The world feels still, and even the smallest things—like a wildflower by the roadside—can take on unexpected beauty.