I guess some of you already know my interest in finding small scenes of deteriorated nature. Late this autumn I found black leaves situated on an uprooted tree close to a creek in Dalby Söderskog NP in the southern part of Sweden.
I liked the colors of the leaves as well as the texture of the surface of the uprooted tree.
I have struggled a lot post-processing this image, finding it very hard how to best present this black image. Finally after many thoughts and starting-over-from-scratch many times I decided to post this attempt.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any comments are welcome!
Since I struggled with the post-processing, tips and tricks or links to good educational material regarding “black” images would be appreciated.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
1 Like
Ola, this is an interesting, and to me, unique subject. I really don’t know how you would manage it any better. Almost everything in the image is dark, so the shine of the leaf and the textures, and shapes are about all that you have. Have you tried this in B&W? I’m wondering if it would reveal the different tones of the shades of black, and help the textures show up even better. I really don’t know of any educational helps for something like this either. You did a great job capturing this. I am sure the camera wanted to make it gray! A nice find, and I hope someone has more to offer than I.
I think this is wonderful! It doesn’t look as if you struggled with anything.
My only suggestion would be to carefully select the bottom edge of the leaf and darken the leaf underneath it, to get better separation in that area and make the very interesting leaf stand out a bit more.
What gorgeous tones. Your processing looks great. I do agree with Diane, though, on darkening the bottom leaf that is under the main one, to gain some separation there.
Ola,
I agree with the others. It’s a unique subject, and you’ve expressed that uniqueness. The surroundings are intriguing — especially the gentle curves of the lower right surface contrasting with hard horizontal lines in the upper left.
The photograph is precisely as intended - a small scene of deteriorated nature.
@Shirley_Freeman, @Bonnie_Lampley and @Diane_Miller I see that I have missed to reply to your comments. My apologize! Shirley, I tested to render it in B&W but did not like the result, probably due to my lack of experience not being able to manage the sliders in the post-processing software correctly. Diana and Bonnie, I will rework the image as you propose to let the leaf stand out better from the background.
@paul_g_wiegman, thanks for your kind comments.
1 Like
Wonderful!! The lovely shape of the leaf stands out now.
Ola,
I don’t see a before and after to compare. I might suggest darkening the leaves under the top leaf just a little bit more for separation mostly on the bottom . What a unique image. I really like the swirls in the dirt in the LRC and I like the tones you have as is. I definitely wouldn’t warm it although cooling it might be an option. It’s worth playing around with this image Ola.
@David_Haynes, thanks for your comments and advice. I will try to achieve more separation as you propose.
