A leaf hides under ice as it melts deeper and deeper into the snow. A variation on my leaves in snow fetish. I like this for the two-level effect and I hope that comes through. Often 3D attributes of scenes can be lost in 2D.
Leaves are an interesting thing to contemplate - the very trees they come from consume them for energy as they break down and become soil. Of course trees aren’t the only things that benefit, but the fact that they feed themselves with their body parts (so to speak) is a bit unsettling for humans I think.
Specific Feedback
It’s a leaf in snow. I am a nut about these things so I quite like it, but probably it’s not everyone’s cuppa as they say. Can it be improved if it is interesting?
Technical Details
Handheld
2 images stacked in Ps. Used a 10mm extension tube to get closer with my mid-range zoom.
Lr for basic processing which wasn’t that much - the usual s-curve to tame highlights and boost the shadows. Quite a bit of clarity/texture added in Lr and in Ps. Boosted the vibrance a bit as well so you could see the leaf more clearly and it brought up a bit of blue in the snow for contrast.
Kris, I like this. I don’t even have to get cold to enjoy it, so extra nice! Thank you for sharing. I can’t think of anything that could improve this shot. I love how the leaf is separated (under the snow) from the snow in depth as well as the color contrast of the white snow and the brown leaf. So much to enjoy here. Looks like you are making lemonade with the lemons of weather in your area. I probably wouldn’t have braved it out into the cold to have even seen this shot. I am such a wimp when it comes to cold! Great shot!
I shot some leaves nearly buried in hoar frost last fall. It’s surprisingly difficult to retain detail in the snow and the leaf. I like this image a lot! I wonder if a bit of highlight reduction on the snow might have revealed more of the detail in the ice crystals?
Thanks @Shirley_Freeman, @linda_mellor & @Paul_Holdorf - glad it’s not too ho-hum. I do rather like my strange winter finds. A big storm is moving in right now that could dump a few more inches on us so who knows when this will end!
I put a slightly darkened and detail enhanced version in the OP. Was this the idea, Paul? I like it, but maybe I took it a bit far.
Very nice. Sunlight on snow is always difficult. The ones I shot I stacked a bunch of shot captured with a 105mm macro. The icy edges of the hoar frost were very difficult to stack with any clarity and the leaf looked too soft. I love your shot, both versions.
Hey thanks @Diane_Miller - glad the separation works. You know how this kind of thing is; you marvel at something out in the field and then you get it home and it just sits there. I put a radial gradient on and posted a 3rd photo. I like it!
I tried something less subtle – it feels too clumsy without more work but this was my thought. It lets my eye bounce back from the edge to the very interesting little detail at the right edge of the indentation or whatever it was.
Thank you for sharing. I can’t think of anything that could improve this shot. I love how the leaf is separated (under the snow) from the snow in depth as well as the color contrast of the white snow and the brown leaf. So much to enjoy here. Looks like you are making lemonade with the lemons of weather in your area. I probably wouldn’t have braved it out into the cold to have even seen this shot. I am such a wimp when it comes to cold! Great shot!