Leaf in Suspension

480sparky

Senior Member
I've been wanting to take this image for years, and tonight was the perfect time to try it. With a plethora of possible leaves laying out in the yard, it just took some time to go out and find the perfect subject. It had started to rain this afternoon, so my possible subjects were quite pliable still and not easy to crumble. Once I found a leaf that fit my vision, I took it inside and placed it flat inside a towel to try out.

I then cleaned off two sheets of glass I had mad for just such purposes, and put a small spacer between them to keep the leaf from being totally flattened. I wanted a bit of texture and contrast, and merely taking the bulk of the curl out of the leaf was just what I was looking at. The black background is merely a black bedsheet about 2 feet behind the glass/leaf.

I then stood the glass up on edge on the table, and lit it with two strobes at very oblique angles. Probably 85° on either side of the leaf. The lights were modified using some scrap cardboard taped to the reflectors, creating 1" vertical slits. I did this to accentuate the texture that remained in the leaf be having the gap between the glass plates.

I used a Nikon D600 and a 200/4 Ai, focused at it's minimum of 6', which didn't quite fill the frame but was close enough to keep cropping to a minimum.

Shot in raw, and converted in post with Capture NX2. Final clean-up using GIMP 2.6

Leaf%20in%20Suspension_8575%20post.jpg


I didn't realize it until I started editing it how much it resembles........... a tree.

I wanted to create the appearance of a leaf suspended in mid-air, not quite totally flattened out, and with more contrast than usual. I'm rather happy with the results, but would love to hear your comments.
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
How many shots did it take to get THE ONE?

I think it turned out absolutely perfect. Great texture in the stem.

If there were one think to nitpick over, and easily adjusted if you agree, I would like to see equal negative space on all four sides. Three sides are ball park close enough that it looks intentional, but the top side is just a little squeezed when viewed against the other three sides.

The fact it looks like a tree is like a great play on words. Well done!

This should be a wall hanger.
 

480sparky

Senior Member
How many shots did it take to get THE ONE?

I took about 4 just to judge exposure. Then I put the camera on the tripod, focused, then bracketed focus for 5 shots. The 4th one was it.

If there were one think to nitpick over, and easily adjusted if you agree, I would like to see equal negative space on all four sides. Three sides are ball park close enough that it looks intentional, but the top side is just a little squeezed when viewed against the other three sides.

Looking back now, I'd agree.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
It looks great and sounds like a lot of work. How does the final image differ from placing the leaf on a black background (such as velvet) and shooting straight down from above? At least that's what I thought it was when I first viewed the image. It does look like a tree--nice one!
 

480sparky

Senior Member
Although my background is black, it doesn't photograph as black. It end up a dark gray, with is very difficult to deal with. So I shot horizontally so I could lower the light falling in it simply due to inverse square. Placing the glass/leaf directly on the black cloth would have been a nightmare to deal with, and probably impossible to make black in post.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Although my background is black, it doesn't photograph as black. It end up a dark gray, with is very difficult to deal with. So I shot horizontally so I could lower the light falling in it simply due to inverse square. Placing the glass/leaf directly on the black cloth would have been a nightmare to deal with, and probably impossible to make black in post.

Understood though it seems like a lot more work your way. That said, it's interesting to hear how you created this. Thanks!
 

WayneF

Senior Member
Although my background is black, it doesn't photograph as black. It end up a dark gray, with is very difficult to deal with. So I shot horizontally so I could lower the light falling in it simply due to inverse square. Placing the glass/leaf directly on the black cloth would have been a nightmare to deal with, and probably impossible to make black in post.

Using black dress velvet works great, literally like magic, and very likely even allows the leaf to lay flat on it. A yard or two of it from the fabric store is a good thing to have. To show the black, here is one with the purse sitting directly on the velvet, no clearance at all.

purse1.jpg


Or using something like a spool of thread as a hidden support to hold the leaf up an inch or so can help too.
 

480sparky

Senior Member
Understood though it seems like a lot more work your way. That said, it's interesting to hear how you created this. Thanks!

It's actually less work, since I didn't have to figure out how to get the camera and lights above the subject.
 
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