In my book, it's still fall. Do not want to give in to winter just yet. Last month I gathered some fallen leaves and twigs and stuck them in a phone book to dry. The other day I pulled them out, watching with dismay as a few leaves separated from their twigs, but no matter. Stuck them in an old bottle I had nearby and decided to photograph them.
The overall lighting in my studio is, shall we say, challenging. There's a big light in the middle (the typical light that comes on when the garage door opens/closes). Then there's an overhead light fixture we got that has maybe six lights on it, all high-intensity LED bulbs. Then there are two ceiling-mounted fluorescent light boxes over on the other side of the room.
I do have two lights set up on a waist-high light table which work very nicely, but over my apothecary-ish cabinet, the LED lights make some cool shadows on a stark white wall, and I like the effect. Nothing will be hung on that wall because the white is just great for a clean simple backdrop. And the height is perfect -- no bending nor stooping required.
So I used that wall to photograph my leaves. I like how the top one looks, almost as though it were shot on a light table. And you know what's important about that shot? See the little tiny bit of space between leaf #1 and the leaf right next to it? To me, that little bit of separation is incredibly important.
In the second photo I took advantage of the shadows on the wall to add interest. And I also used a grungy piece of paper in the background, again to add interest.
No. Winter isn't here yet. Still celebrating fall. My favorite season. Well, favorite along with spring.
©Carol Leigh
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