Mottled leaf

[Randy Stout]

This leaf was discovered on the ground whilst on my morning walk. I was struck by the subtle patterns and variation in the colors.

I carried it home with me and took a couple of shots. I clamped the stem onto a stand so that the sun coming up transilluminated the leaf, while the trees in the bg were still in shade.

Olympus EM5 with 60mm macro, f/7.1 ISO 200, handheld

Post: slight crop for comp. selective sharpening.

As always, your advice is much appreciated.

There were some minor areas of imperfection/discoloration, but chose to leave them as found.

Thanks

Randty

[Jonathan Ashton]

Randy I think the lighting and the detail is outstanding. The background is highly contrasting but I think this serves to enhance the visual experience of the leaf. I would have no hesitation in leaving the minor imperfections in the leaf alone, nature is rarely perfect. If it were possible I would like the subject to have a little more background but I appreciate the leaf was clamped in position. If there is not space left on the original file I would consider adding a little canvas to the top and left and then the right, just to see the effect. This reminds me of the leaf images we used to get against old rotting logs a few years back. All in all a super shot.

[Diane Miller]

Gorgeous leaf in perfect light, arranged beautifully in the frame to complement its graceful shape. Wonderful that you got it all in the plane of focus.

[Allen Sparks]

Quite beautiful Randy. Wonderfully sharp throughout. Love the tones too.

Allen

[OvidiuCavasdan]

Color tones and veins look very nice, also good details on the leaf, I like the composition as presented.

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image with superb fine details. Love the texture of leaf.


Regards,
Satish.