I spotted this lone leaf early one morning while on a walk at our local nature trail. The sun was in the perfect position to highlight the leaf. It just reminded me that it a new day was ahead and a nice way to start the day.
In ACR applied a linear profile, auto adjustment, adjusted those, then applied noise reduction to the background. In PS Cropped to 1x1, I did some content aware/cloning to remove miscellaneous twigs, then added a free hand vignette.
What I like is the soft feel of the leaf with the lighting from the sun. I realize it is symmetrical but felt the right side (which is what I cropped) was unnecessary. I’d be interested in how you feel about the image and if the crop feels to tight for you? Any other thoughts/comments?
Nikon D3200, f/9, 1/100sec., iso 320 @ 300mm, hand held. 300mm is not ideal for this lens (28mm-300mm) but the leaf was way off the path and was my only choice.
I just love these type of images. The crop works very well IMO. You have also adjusted the BG in a great way. And the leaf itself is just amazing, the deterioration and structure is just perfect. Just a minor comment, maybe the brightness of the green diagonal branch could be reduced a tad.
Thanks, @Ola_Jovall. Good point about the branch, but was hesitant to process too much. I appreciate you thoughts.
Gorgeous light and great detail!! The leaf is fascinating! The crop looks excellent to me, but the leaf seems to be sticking up at an awkward angle. I wondered about a 180 rotation to make the leaf hanging down but that made the light on the stems coming from below. A 90 CW sort of worked. Maybe there is an in-between if you have enough canvas.
Good work with a less-than-ideal situation.
Re-work:
Thanks so much, @Diane_Miller. I so appreciate your perspective and suggestions. A lot of times I get lost in my own world. I’ve posted a rework with your suggestions and do like it much better. Perhaps a bit too much canvas on the right now, but still better and time for me to move on. Thanks again
Oh the rework you just posted was worth the time and effort! Brava!
Thanks so much, @Kris_Smith. Definitely like it better and truly appreciate all of the comments and suggestion everyone here at NPN are so will to share.