Posted February 19th, 2010

Three Dead Leaves on Ice

Though the crystalline surface of the snow resembles hoarfrost, in this case it seems to be a product of recrystallization of the snow in mild conditions which have prevailed over the past month. These leaves, patterned with the telltale trails of the aspen leaf miner, undoubtedly had been clinging tenaciously to their tree until a gust of wind ejected them and transported them into my composition. Backlit by the sun, this was a high contrast situation and exposing to retain the texture produced by the specular ice blades rendered the leaves as near silhouettes. Photomatix to the rescue, I produced an HDR composite from different exposures and massaged it into this image, which I find pleasing and fairly natural looking even if it is a bit understated compared to the brilliant intensity of the original scene.  
Pentax K10D, Tamron AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DiII LD IF Macro @ f/11