Lone leaf in snow

This is a shot taken last month with a 70-300mm zomm in macro 1:2 Used a tripod and mirror lock up to try to get it as crisp as I could. The jpeg format seems to have lost a little of the sharpness I have in the original 29mb tiff format, but its ok. I like the texture of the dried leaf and all its detail against the white snow. I think something more would have helped it like a shadow from the subject as well or something. . .

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Originally Posted by gahspidy

This is a shot taken last month with a 70-300mm zomm in macro 1:2 Used a tripod and mirror lock up to try to get it as crisp as I could. The jpeg format seems to have lost a little of the sharpness I have in the original 29mb tiff format, but its ok. I like the texture of the dried leaf and all its detail against the white snow. I think something more would have helped it like a shadow from the subject as well or something. . .

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Sorry, just uploading the photo again . Think I did something wrong when I sent the new thread.

These are really hard to do right. I've shot bunches of them during various seasons and various weather conditions but it's hard to convey what you're feeling because there's no larger context in the photo. For this shot, I think it might've worked better had you found a bigger leaf that was sort of "buckled in / bowed in on itself" due to the weight of the snow pinning it down.

The idea is to illustrate how winter gets a hold of objects in nature, and sort of "pins them down" under the weight of cold and snow. Sort of like trying to hold back the inevitable thaw and warm winds that will come with Spring.

Probably a darker view of winter than most take, but that's kind of what I see when shooting trees or plants or leaves that are "heavy with snow", for example. I try to depict the snow as a burden to the thing being photographed almost, even though I don't mind winter per se....

PuckJunkey,
I get what your saying and would agree. The shot needs a bit of "drama". I think I was more caught up in how sharp my lens could capture the detail rather than what the shot would offer the viewer.I appreciate your comments and suggestions. Very helpful.

about this image is the granules of snow and how pretty they look...I really wish you had been a smidge further back and the leaf were more in focus and had slightly richer tones...

keep 'em coming :)

I think this makes a pretty good subject for macro photography because the leaf contrasts so strongly in its colour and texture with the background. As it is its an interesting shot but if I was going to suggest improvements I can think of two things - the first is that the line on the left (the stalk?) is a bit distracting - maybe you could have removed it somehow ? I guess most people don't carry scissors in their camera bag though............. Also maybe a bit more DoF just to get a little bit more of the leaf in sharp focus.

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Originally Posted by Mjjglasgow

I think this makes a pretty good subject for macro photography because the leaf contrasts so strongly in its colour and texture with the background. As it is its an interesting shot but if I was going to suggest improvements I can think of two things - the first is that the line on the left (the stalk?) is a bit distracting - maybe you could have removed it somehow ? I guess most people don't carry scissors in their camera bag though............. Also maybe a bit more DoF just to get a little bit more of the leaf in sharp focus.

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Thanks All,
I think I will try to sharpen and enrich the photo a bit in PSP8, as I have not touched it except to clean it up a little from the scan. But I think the true fix for this type of shot would be to use a true macro lens to capture all the fine detail and texture of the leaf and snow.
About the DOF Mjjglasgow, I agree. I wanted to capture more of leaf in focus, but it was shaking every now and then in the wind and I was afraid of having too long shutter speed and have the leaf jiggle a bit during exposure.
Thanks again for all your good advice and critique.