Backlit Sweetgum

Sweetgum leaves have a fine “star” shape and take on a variety of fall colors, making them a special part of fall in Coastal Plain forests. In this case, I liked the glow from the lighting and the framing from the branches. (5D3, 180 mm macro, 1/250 s, f/8. iso 800, tripod)

Mark, I like this for the same reasons you do. That backlighting really makes the leaf stand out so nicely. Love its shape and also the way the limbs frame it. I also like the rim of light on the limbs. Well seen and captured.

I must agree with both you and @Shirley_Freeman, Mark, the lighting is everything in this image. Even the way the sun is illuminating the right side of the tree is lovely. Very nicely seen.

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The colors and the lighting are amazing Mark, awesome Photo image

how do you ‘erase’ the background like in this photo, how do you only get foreground? when i take this type of photo the background still shows and distracts from the foreground - what is the primary setting or technique to achieve this? also how do you balance the light when shooting toward it so it does not get washed out or too dark?

Ben, there was NO “Background Erasure” in this image. The background was far enough away and not catching direct light. That’s a matter of putting in the time and effort to find the right subject and background combination.

There was not anything behind the leaf? No other plants or forest or branches or other leaves? Or your camera settings and skills helped blend the deeper background into a featureless, non-distinct almost mono-tone color?
Or am I still missing something?
I did not mean erasure in the sense of photoshopping - i meant in the sense of… maybe? - depth of field setting, or something else like that.
I was just curious how you achieved it.