There was a narrow road next to a wall of foliage which I wanted to photograph. Fortunately it was in a state park leading to the campground. Unfortunately I had to place my tripod on the slope of the edges of the road to allow cars enough room and not get their drivers too angry. I must’ve spent a good 2 hours working this area and came away with two keepers, this being one of them. I wanted to leaves to glisten so I turned the polarizer to the ‘off’ position. I wanted to capture the freshness of a rainy day. I suppose that’s what I was mostly after.
Oh, yes … this was just the beginning of fall so I was looking for plants that had that first hint of color. If you’ve been to Alaska you’ve seen these giant leaves everywhere. They color from the outer edges into the center. The edges will flush first.
I actually focused stacked this as well but am too lazy to go through all the merging. You can see that there is a slight fall off in sharpness in the top right.
Oooh, the shiny but vein-y texture of those leaves is gorgeous. I love the way you used the greener plants to frame the plant with the slightly different shade of green. My only nit(s) are the bright bits back in the shadows on frame left. You could burn them + desaturate them to make them recede more into the background. I wouldn’t have perceived any fall off of focus if you hadn’t said something.
I, too, like the color contrast between the outer and inner leaves. I think it was a good choice to leave the polarizer off. I don’t see the fall off in focus but I am not pixel peeping.
What a fantastic find, Igor. Well worth spending two hours on IMO. The greens have a lush vibrancy to them that I find very inviting and the little bit of shine has only enhanced that feeling. My only suggestion; just my personal taste; would be to clone out that couple of brighter twigs toward the lower left side. The different plant along the bottom edge is also a nice touch and helps frame those big leaves. Very nicely done.
This is beautiful Igor. I love the just barely turning leaves surrounded by full green, and the textures and shine on the leaves is excellent. I also don’t really notice the sharpness issue you mention.
I agree with Bonnie about the brighter bits in the back (is there flowing water back there?) being a slight distraction. There’s also an out of focus blade of grass in the center of the bottom edge that I would clone out.
A great image as already has been explained by others. In addition to what already has been said, I like that you have used dark parts to frame and emphasize the lighter leaves.
Lovely and rich! You did well to turn the polarizer “off” to show off those highlights. Beautifully framed with a nice variety of textures and colors and the blacks just give it a beautiful richness to this image. Burning a couple of those stems in the water flow might make them slightly less distracting but they are by no means an eyesore. They may in fact help to fill in the black section in that area. I would not worry at all about that very small falloff in sharpness in the upper right corner. Never would have noticed it if you hadn’t mentioned it.
This is exquisite Igor! I would say this was two hours well spent. I’m guessing you didn’t do a lot of post processing; am I correct? I say this because it appears so fully saturated but completely natural. It’s very carefully composed; nothing entering or leaving through the frame, no extraneous bits of vine, stems, leaves to distract attention, the slight color changes on the edges of the leaves is small but noticable, the BG shadows are deep but clear. I mention all this because you showed great discipline in not over processing this. I know me well enough to know I would have been tempted to “make this better” and end up screwing it up instead. Well done, Igor.
Very enjoyable, Igor. For some reason, I find this shape very pleasant (e.g. I will take maple over aspen any day). I also like the various shades of green. They keep the image interesting for me.
Very little. I did a small bit of cropping (you know I’m a stickler for composition). I also brought the highlights down because they were really bright where the light was reflected off the water. I am glad to hear that I’m not the only one that thinks processing usually degrades the quality of an image. I usually just wait or search for good light. In fact, I went to Alaska for the light and not the subject. The only thing that separates us from those great British photographers is that they are blessed with great light most of the year. It’s different in eastern Oregon and I suspect Florida as well.
This strikes me as the sort of image the Sierra Club would print in their Engagement Calendars.
Me too. These leaves do have the shape of aspens but they’re big, maybe 16 inches across. They bear a stalk of red berries which I eventually decided wasn’t worth photographing. The stems have these nasty thorns on them. Even the underside of the leaves are sort of raspy and leave a rash if you handle them. However, I’ve been impressed with the plant from the first time I saw it. They’re chest high and when I walked amongst it I felt like I was living in some past geological era when dinosaurs roamed. I find them exotic.
Igor, This is beautifully seen and photographed. The shades of green are wonderful and it feels like you could reach out and feel the textures. Excellent composition!
Thank you for your comments. Most of you felt pretty positive about this one. I’ll have to print this and see if some of that vitality transfer over to paper.
