Ice Leaf

[aekberg]

I took this shot this morning and like it, but want to know what I could have done to make it (the ice leaf) stand out more. Any advice would be great. BTW this is my first post so I hope it goes through okay and I got everything right.....

Here are the specs:

Canon PowerShot G10
1/500
f/2.8
ISO 80
focal length 30.1mm
no flash

In manual mode

Thanks!

[NotQuite]

The beauty of this shot is in the rarity of the phenomena. I like the story you are portraying, as though spring is but a distant whisper as winter’s chill still dominates. Nature feels like it is so close to losing the battle for survival but still holds on to hope, wishing that spring would arrive. For that I say, great eye for spotting this wonderful opportunity. I’m just not sure about the branch being in the foreground though. If it were me I would do a 180 and capture this shot with the frozen leaf as the main foreground, it is the main and most interesting feature after all. But then again I don’t know what the background looks like from the other angle. Although very subtle, i like how in the background there is a non-frozen leaf providing further impetus to the uniqueness of this shot. If possible i would emphasise the leaves in this state. I would fabricate a background by gathering some branches from another part of the tree which had more brown leaves attached to it (which I’m sure would be quite challenging mid-winter!) and add it to the background.

[Doug Sundseth]

Originally Posted by aekberg

I took this shot this morning and like it, but want to know what I could have done to make it (the ice leaf) stand out more.

Crop even tighter, move the leaf out of the center of the shot, correct the blue color temperature, and perhaps increase the contrast. I would at least try to get a shot from the other side to show the leaf against the branch rather than vice versa.

Nicely seen, by the way.

[aekberg]

Thanks! I did think about getting the shot from the other side of the branch. Problem being is that I couldn't find the extension ladder. The actual image is about 15 feet off the ground and I only saw it from my back porch. I did try and reach behind the branch for the other side of the ice to no avail. (Darn my short stature and thus short arms!)

I will have to try and adjust cool temp and contrast and possible photoshop some extra branches in.

Thanks again for the great advice!

here's a link to the pic cleaned up a bit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/57613752@N02/6772660501/

[NotQuite]

I think you went a little trigger happy with the contrast. Otherwise it's nice