As the sophistication of time lapse photography has increased, so we have been able to show that plants can be as competitive and as aggressive as many an animal. And it was the mastery of time lapse that allowed us to make a series called the private life of plants. Condense three months into 20 seconds, and the desolation of winter quickly warms into the riot of spring. Speed a week into a minute and you can sense the urgency with which the groundliving plants race to unfurl their flowers. Of all the woodland plants the humble bramble is one of the most aggressive. It waves its shoots agitatedly from side to side as if feeling for the best way forward. The invading stems backward pointing spines give it the grip it needs to climb over almost anything that stands in its way. It can advance as much as three inches in a day. Now, digital cameras allow us to see how a shot is developing while we are still taking it instead of having to wait till it was finished as we used to have to do w