Oak Leaf/Oak Board

[Ken Childs]

Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS @ 60mm
Av mode
1/4"
F13
ISO:200
Tripod
LR and CS3

Shot indoors with indirect window light coming from the right, white foam core on the left. Cleaned up some blemishes on the leaf and some scrapes on the board. Sharpening done only on the leaf. I had to post a smaller size and lower quality than normal to get it under the 200kb limit.

[Danny J Brown]

Hi Ken,

A lovely combination as the leaf (pin oak?) and the board are both packed with character. The colors work well together also with just the right amount of contrast. Nice.

DB

[Anita Bower]

Ken: I like that you are bringing the outdoors inside and featuring small elements of it. I've been looking at the gorgeous leaves this fall and not quite knowing how to photograph them. You are giving me some ideas.

Lovely leaf! I like that it still has some green. I find the knot in the wood pulling my eye away from the leaf. Perhaps that is your intention. The knot and wood around it are fantastic, but they overpower the leaf. I would even out the darkness and lightness of the ULC and LRC.

I did some quick rework using dodge and burn (which I seldom use), contrast, saturation and selective levels (for tip of leaf) to give you an idea of what I have in mind.

I do think the image suffers from the lower quality required for posting.

[Jay Sheinfield]

Hey Ken,

I'm with Anita on this one..............its a great concept, the wood and leaf contrast nicely. Definitely, worth another shot at it.

[Dave Leroy]

I like the nice simple shot and the idea behind it.
I also like that you brought it indoors to do. Good idea to get out of the wind and rain and take the time to get comp.that you like.

The wood is nice with the natural tones including the bit of blue in it.

I am trying to get a grasp of the finer details of composition, but the first thought I had when I looked at the photo was that the overlap of leaf on the knot cut off part of the interest for me. I liked the knot as well as the leaf. I wanted to move the leaf up and to the right a bit using its natural curve to accentuate the knot. Just another idea.

Very nice job on the repost. Leaf gets a bit more spark.

Dave

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Ken. Another cool idea for an indoor shot. I like the diagonal of the leaf and the way your selective sharpening makes the leaf stand out. The comments above are very interesting. I like what Anita has done in her repost and I also like Dave's suggestion about the comp. I'll be waiting to see what you come up with next. :)

[Katherine Enns]

I like this Ken, and its exactly the same camera and lens combination I use all the time shooting plants in the field for work. That is my fave lens, bar none. Wood is such a beautiful backdrop for vegetation. My only suggestion is to try to use a warmer light source if you can. And when placing against a wood grain watch that the patterns work together and that they dont obscure or cancel each other out. Its great to have a flat surface (relatively) for the focal plane as well.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Ken, I like this one, but think I would prefer some space between the leaf and the knot in the board. Perhaps the know closer to the bottom of the comp. Not sure, but I think I am seeing a touch of blue in the grain on the board.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Ken, I like this one, but think I would prefer some space between the leaf and the knot in the board. Perhaps the knot closer to the bottom of the comp. Not sure, but I think I am seeing a touch of blue in the grain on the board.

[Ken Childs]

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions.

I still have the leaf so I may have to revisit this one.

[Julie Kenward]

Ken, what a lovely idea! I also thought the leaf should be pushed just a bit more towards the URC so the entire knot could have it's place in the image. Other than that, I love it. The textures balance each other nicely and the leaf really pops against that dark wood.

I picked up a LOT of leaves this fall so I'll have to go find a board I can use to copy what you've done here!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Ken,
Agree with all the comments above about the knot....but I see you can still explore some more of these so now you get a good idea of why I love working indoors!!!