Late Summer, there were some leaves already on the ground, I had decided to go for a hike and also scout a new location. The hike went alongside a lake, naturally went to the banks for some rest and found that there was a sort of current in the lake caused by the wind and there were leaves floating on the lake. Realised that the fallen leaves would look good in the blue of the water, after taking n number of shots trying to get the leaf in the smoother part of the water to get separation, got the image that I wanted.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any feedback on composition or editing is welcome. I always reach a bit of a editing dead end when I feel I am happy with the image and there is nothing more I can or should do, especially with smaller or abstract scenes.
Technical Details
ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/320s, 250mm
1 Like
Hi Subhasish – Although for the purposes of this critique theme of “abstracts in nature,” the leaf takes away a bit of the abstractness of the scene, I love you including it. The leaf is in a perfect spot and the feeling of flow with the leaf and the golden patterns in the water works really well.
I think this crop works nicely but I think you could also consider taking some off the bottom of the frame. In the example below, the tighter framing emphasizes the flow a bit more by eliminating some of the empty space and less dynamic patterns at the bottom. I am offering this as an alternative interpretation since I think your version works well, too.
In terms of processing, I might consider backing off the saturation in the blues a tiny bit since they look a little unnaturally vibrant. You could also consider cleaning up a few of the errant specs of light throughout the scene and inconsistent details along the edges (for example, one of the dark sections along the top has just a tiny bit of blue on the edge and I would clone out that sliver of blue). Otherwise, I think this works very well. And again, I just love the leaf! Nice work in waiting for it to be in a perfect spot.
