Taken with my Nikon D 5200 on Manual Mode, Lens 55-300; Focal Length 110 mm, Speed 1/160 sec., F/5.6, ISO 200. I am not sure how this pile of leaves came to be but when I cam across them in Flamingo Gardens in South Florida, I knew I wanted to capture the beauty of the shaft of light that made its way in this other dark area of the gardens. Post processing Photoshop Basic adjustments, increasing the blur on the background and then working to get rid of the overexposed spots on the leaves. There were two things I really struggled with: 1. How to crop this image. Should I have kept in more of the tree or used another crop? 2. Since many of my images tend to be dark, was I able to brighten this image enough?
I am grateful for any suggestions you can give me.
4 comments posted
Charles Shepherd
Nicely seen and captured. I like the fact that the leaves are central and bright which holds your attention. I think the crop is fine, but I may have darkened the foreground a little more. Posted: 07/19/2025 09:40:50
Renee Whitley
I really like the post processing on this image. The light on the leaves makes them the clear focal point. The tree roots create a strong leading line toward the leaves, so I wouldn't darken them any further. However, you might consider darkening the tree behind the leaves to help keep the viewer's eye focused on them. Posted: 07/21/2025 00:21:38
Dr V G Mohanan Nair
Nice diagonal composition. To me, the cropping looks fine. The image has nice colors and beautiful lighting. The post processing is very good. The vignette and leading lines emphasizes the focal point. Posted: 07/25/2025 08:03:54
Joan Funk
Wonderful composition with the "shaft" of light crossing the leaves - well seen. Good job of eliminating the overexposed spots. There are a few more spots of white that you can use Photoshop's burn tool (with a low exposure) to get rid of. The image is well cropped, leaving enough properly-blurred background to frame the subject. The lighting brings out the beautiful color in the subjec Posted: 07/26/2025 00:51:43
