After an hour wondering in a forest and feeling very uninspired, this "skeleton leaf " appeared almost as an apparition on the ground and stopped my in my tracks.
Feedback Requests
I will probably keep working with this to enhance the feeling of “apparition” I felt when I saw it. I am open to any ideas or suggestions as to how to make this happen. Also interested in any general reactions.
Pertinent Technical Details
Taken with Sony A72 with a Sigma macro lens, handheld. Lighting was ambient light in shadow.
Welcome @marianne2! You have shared quite a remarkable image with us. Really well seen and processed. I’m looking forward to what else you share with us.
Hi Marianne, welcome aboard. A nice find and an interesting image from the forest floor. The deteriorating leaf network has the look of a dragonfly’s wing cells. I normally don’t react to B&W but this has such an interesting look. I think a diagonal presentation of the main central vein would be more appealing and I would look to soften more of the needle back ground, as they fight for my attention while looking at the interesting lines.
Hi and welcome to NPN - congrats on finding us and this leaf. I spend a lot of time looking at the ground when I’m in the woods and decayed leaves are a treasure when they present themselves so nicely. I like that the needles are visible below the lacework that remains. One suggestion I have is to raise the whites just a tad for some additional dynamic range. Looking forward to more apparitions and participation from you in the groups.
Hi Stephen - Thanks for the welcome and the feedback! I appreciate it! Your suggestions are some of the edits I am currently playing with…great minds think alike! And I am glad a B&W image got your attention as well!
Hi Kristen -Thanks so much for the welcome! I definitely love the lacey-ness of decayed leaves and this one was especially captivating. I was tempted to take it home and photograph it in the studio, but I felt its home was exactly where I found it. Thanks for the suggested edit - I am trying to find that sweet spot by raising the whites so it just teeters on realism and the apparitional quality I originally felt. I’ll keep playing… Thanks again!!
Marianne, welcome to NPN and the Weekly Challenge. I too enjoy looking down as I walk and seeing the details on the ground. This skeletonized leaf is a great find and you’ve presented it well. I like the limited contrast as it encourages me to spend time exploring the frame. You’ve done a good job of separating the leaf skeleton from the (pine needles??) that it’s laying on with the subtle change in sharpness, especially near the top. You don’t say what the macro lens focal length is, but the rapid sharpness changes suggest that it’s at least a 100 mm and might be even longer.
And I am glad a B&W image got your attention as well!