The pandemic forced me into cancelling four traveling photography trips between April and September. So like many other folks, I dove into my large backlog of older, unprocessed images. This time has been a good opportunity to catch up. But after four months I felt like it was time to get back to shooting more again. So I resolved to spend time this summer focusing on small intimate scenes that I could find close to home. Here is a image of a cluster of leaves after a rainfall. I liked the repetitive pattern filling the frame, even though it has no strong focal point. While the image is pretty monochromatic, I thought the strong shape of the leaves was enough to create interest.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any critique or comments are welcome
Technical Details
Canon 5D MKIV, Canon 70 to 200mm f4 lens. Polarizing filter to remove glare from the wet leaves.
Ed,
It’s nice to see you are out shooting again. Yes the shapes and droplets make a nice subject. What really grabs my eye is the wonderful color and luminance that you presented. The subtle changes to the shades of green and the light is really nice.
I was concerned that this image might have been too chaotic and disorganized without a focal point, but I’m glad to see that people appreciate it for the pattern itself.
Yeah, I’ve finally gotten sick of being cooped up at home and processing old images. Time to move on, (with a mask and distancing of course).
This was a very pleasant surprise for me as well. That color / luminance was there out in the field, it’s not created by processing. As you know I’ve been frustrated this spring and summer by lack of rain. I got this on one of those rare days in late June when it actually rained for a change. The moisture saturated the colors, and I shot this scene just as the sun was starting to burn through the clouds, which created the glow effect.
Gorgeous image, Ed. I love the soft glow on the rain drop laden oak leaves. The soft light and the rain drops give this intimate landscape a fresh and inviting feel to it. This just goes to show that we do not have to go far to capture interesting scenes. I know that I too have also stayed closer to home with all this craziness going on and it has allowed me to get some images that I probably would not have gotten otherwise. This is being pretty nit picky, but I could see the BG darkened just a tad more to place even more emphasis on those lovely greens. Anyway, I am loving this image.
Water droplets on plants always make a winning combination. The green on black is an elegant presentation. Your aspect ratio makes sense because there is a horizontal branch in the upper right area and center left area that implies a line extending horizontally through the image. However, there is ‘star’ shaped leaf in just left of center that might work as a square crop in my mind.
@Ed_Lowe@Igor_Doncov thank you for your comments. Ed, I darkened the background already, but based on your comment, I’ll take it a bit further, as Igor said the green on black works well.
Igor, I really like your crop. The leaf in the LLC was what caught my attention in the first place. But your crop simplifies things and really makes that leaf the star of the show. Thanks for the idea.
Ed, Leaf details lie this are hard to pull off. I’ve tried in the past with marginal success. I think it has to t do with DOF and trying to selectively focus attention on a layer of the overall leaves. You’ve done well with this one, but I still find the my eye does not have a resting place as there are to many layers, if that makes any sense.
