I went for a walk to scout a location yesterday and was having such a good time that I just walked around to enjoy the fallness if you know what I mean. The crispy leaves. The breeze. The lack of bugs. I didn’t take a tripod or much of my gear at all. It was about freedom and experiencing the outdoors. Of course I had my camera and a couple of lenses (m43 is so great for carrying light) and a few things caught my eye.
This white birch branch among the newly fallen leaves with some lovely sidelight is one such little scene. I liked it for its contrasts and texture mostly. In processing my aim was to emphasize the + orientation of some of the leaves and the branch without making it too pronounced.
Specific Feedback Requested
Does it work? Any ideas for improvement are welcome.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Handheld
Initially processed in Lr for white balance, a crop, sharpening & nr, texture (+), clarity (-) then into Ps to mess with the TK8 panels. First border patrol and distraction removal, basically just simplifying the chaos a little. Then an exposure adjustment layer w/a mid-tones mask to protect the deeper shadows and the lighter bits. I used a black brush to further protect some areas like the branch in the background. I like the Layer mask mode’s ability for you to see on the image what the mask is doing so I used that option. Then I created a burn layer to further bring some of the areas down in exposure. Then I added Soft pop and reduced the opacity on the layer so it wouldn’t be too intense. Finally a saturation adjustment layer to bring everything down to a softer level. Phew!
I love doing exactly what you describe, Kris. Wandering with a small camera kit and snapping whatever catches my eye. This one works quite well because of the background being in shadow. Well done.
“I notice that Autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
In fact it’s the crisp leaves that make this image work for me, great use of selective focus here Kris. And the other key to this image is the ground level view, it creates a more intimate connection with the leaves. I like this as presented, I wouldn’t change a thing about it.
Thanks @David_Bostock & @Ed_McGuirk - glad I could organize the chaos for a bit. Fall is a soulful season and even though peak color is long gone, I still enjoy it. Ground level is something I’m very familiar with and even without a tripod I often get down low to see how that changes the view. I shot this group and another from above, but haven’t worked on those images yet. Maybe I’ll put one up for comparison.
This is a quadruple wow for the light, the color, the composition and the focus/DOF. I LOVE IT!! Great thoughts about autumn. It is a quiet and contemplative time.
Thanks @Izzy, @Diane_Miller & @Ola_Jovall - it’s a quiet little scene, but it spoke to me. I was thinking of your fallen leaves images, Ola, when I took it and had a feeling you’d like it, too.
