When the birds failed to show that morning, Roberto turned his attention to a grass species he had been eager to photograph for years. Using a polarising filter to enhance the colours, he captured the ethereal beauty of this delicate plant. ‘At last, I saw in the viewfinder the picture I had been looking for,’ he says.
Grasslands are one of the biggest ecosystems on Earth, with nearly 12,000 grass species covering an estimated 52.5 million square kilometres globally. Small hair grass, Periballia minuta, lives up to its name. Its tiny spikelets, the flowering parts at the end of the stems, are a mere two millimetres long.
Spain
Thanks to a relative who was fond of the environment, Roberto took an interest in nature while growing up in western Spain, near what is now the Sierra de Béjar Biosphere Reserve. He hopes his images, along with those of many of his fellow photographers, will help educate people.
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