Stewartia leaf

[DanK]

Nothing special, but autumn finally came, and I finally had time to take out a camera, so I thought a leaf was in order. A stack of 12 images, using Zerene DMap, shot at f/7.1, 2.5 sec, ISO 100, under halogen lights. Best in the litebox because of the black background. C&C welcome, as always.

[IzzieK]

This kind of leaf will be good to skeletonize...like a lace. This is beautifully done with a black background, Dan...Nice colour too. Very simple.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[madcrow]

Dan, +1 for Izzie.

[Wavelength]

Very beaultiful

[NorthernFocus]

You definitely captured the detail and color. And I love that dark BG for this sort of thing. Well done.

[Mike Buckley]

Your lighting wonderfully displays the color, shape and texture of the leaf. I especially like the touch of back lighting. Extremely well done!

Note to others trying this type of photography: there is no glare, which would have disguised the color, shape and/or texture.

[FootLoose]

Beautiful image, Dan. I wonder if it would be possible to fix the leaf to a black surface and capture the whole stem in the frame?

[DanK]

Thanks everyone. Mike--that's one reason I use continuous lighting--it let's me see, more or less, what I will get, and glare is one of the most common problems. Izzie--I have to let nature take its course. Later in the fall there will be more skeletonized leaves. Greg--that was exactly my thought. However, I couldn't do it. I wanted backlighting, so I had to hold the leaf away from the background, and the stem was so short that I couldn't hold the leaf without losing it. I might have been able to get a bit more if I had tried attaching it to a toothpick with wax. (I learned a long time ago that a good combination is about a 50/50 mix of beeswax and the wax in toilet rings.)

[Mike Buckley]

I'm just curious: Did you need a polarizer to eliminate glare or were you able to control that entirely with your lighting?

I might have been able to get a bit more if I had tried attaching it to a toothpick with wax. (I learned a long time ago that a good combination is about a 50/50 mix of beeswax and the wax in toilet rings.)

I hadn't heard of that. If you don't want to have to mix anything, try museum wax, which is readily available online.

[bnnrcn]

Great texture,shape and colors Dan

[DanK]

I'm just curious: Did you need a polarizer to eliminate glare or were you able to control that entirely with your lighting?



I hadn't heard of that. If you don't want to have to mix anything, try museum wax, which is readily available online.

Mike,

thanks for the suggestion. Re a polarizer: no, I have never used one in doing macros.

Dan

[IzzieK]

Thanks everyone. Mike--that's one reason I use continuous lighting--it let's me see, more or less, what I will get, and glare is one of the most common problems. Izzie--I have to let nature take its course. Later in the fall there will be more skeletonized leaves. Greg--that was exactly my thought. However, I couldn't do it. I wanted backlighting, so I had to hold the leaf away from the background, and the stem was so short that I couldn't hold the leaf without losing it. I might have been able to get a bit more if I had tried attaching it to a toothpick with wax. (I learned a long time ago that a good combination is about a 50/50 mix of beeswax and the wax in toilet rings.)

I do my own skeletonizing of leaves myself since last year. There are a lot of instructions in the internet about it but I use mine for decoration around this time of the year till Christmas....