Water trough leaf

[Ken Childs]

Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS @ 105mm
Av mode
1/50"
F16
ISO:400
HH
LR and CS3

I found this leaf awhile back in one of my partially frozen water troughs. The thin ice made for some interesting patterns and colors.

Cropped, sharpened with a round of high pass and a round of smart sharpening. Boosted colors just a bit. Cloned out a bunch of tiny white spots and took down the brightness on the leaf.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Ken
Cool idea with the thin layer of ice! I think the colors and patterns are interesting although the blueish diagonal in the UL I find a bit distracting. I think blending that and the whitish spot at the top of frame will go a long way in givng this more of a painterly look and keep the focus on the leaf. You know I also wouldn't mind more of a pano of this (ablout 1&1/2 inches off the top)......but I think both will work once the brighter blue is snoothed out or minimized.
I think you did a great job with the concept and I will keep it in mind when we finally start to thaw!

[Julie Kenward]

Give that blue area a light coat with a light gray to bring the brightness down but keep in the shape that echoes the placement of the leaf - that's how I'd do it anyway!

[Chris Korman]

At first I could not tell it was frozen water as I think the angle at which the photo is taken reduces the contrast of the ice. The leaf has some interesting textures, I might still tone down the brightness a wee bit more.

[Dave Leroy]

I like the nice abstract bg. The leaf puts some nice reality back in photo. Colours all work for me.

Among the first things I noticed was the little roundish thing above the leaf. If mine, I might have a look at that piece removed as an option.

I also agree a bit darker leaf may work well too.

Dave

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Ken, I'm not very enthousiastic about the composition, but I do love the textures and the abstract BG. I even think that the structures in the ice would make a great subject of their own.

[Brendan Dozier]

I really like the combination of the ice and leaf textures in this, Ken. The white crack/refelection? in UL area is a bit distracting, so I might try doing a pano and crop just below that.