On Pointe

[Julie Kenward]

Thought you all might like a little more inspiration for the January macro challenge! I'm very excited to head back out tomorrow afternoon as the magical fountain has grown almost six feet tall in places and the water is still flying!

Here's one from the lake last weekend. I had to look twice to see that this leaf actually froze in the middle of skimming across the ice! Amazing stuff is out there so strap on your boots, grab two extra pairs of socks, and don't forget your long underwear while you're at it. Now get going!

Canon 40D, EF 400mm f/4L
f11 @ 1/400th, ISO 400 (probably should have jumped down to ISO 200 but it was so overcast I thought better safe than sorry!)
Manual mode, pattern metering, handheld
Processed in ACR & CS5; levels and curves adjustments for the ice, high pass filter to bring out the texture. Desaturated the blues of the water a bit and added a sepia filter to help neutralize it without losing the browns in the leaf.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Jules,
I don't think this one is as strong as the others....can't put my finger on it but am debating if it is the leaf angle.....or the depth and textures of the ice/snow??? You have some texture in the ice....soo I am leaning towards the leaf position. I think you should organize a road trip to that fountain!!! 6ft and flowing......looking forward to see what you are going to come up with!

[D. Robert Franz]

Now thats different, but refreshing.. Worth the effort for sure.

[Richard Lovison]

Julie,

I really like this image. Very unique and brings a smile to my face every time I look at it. Wonderful capture.

Richard

[Ken Childs]

Cool find, Jules! I'm with Roman on there being something not quite right.....I'd say it's definitely the leaf angle. Had it been blowing towards the shore when it froze in place, I think this would have looked perfect! And of course I would have taken this shot, too. :D

[Julie Kenward]

Thanks everyone. I see what you're saying about the leaf position. I totally fell in love with the way the water was frozen off two of the leaf points and didn't really consider anything else! I appreciate the feedback. :w

[Anita Bower]

The title is perfect--a ballerina leaf. I like the patterns of the snow. This image works for me.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jules. Sounds like you're having a blast with these winter images! I really like the frozen tips on the leaf that make this image unique. Having said that, it would be interesting to view this from some other angles (as suggested above) to see if the image could be even stronger. :)