"Focus" was the theme for this week's photo. Initially, I had planned a macro shot of Cherry Blossoms from Sakura Matsuri this past weekend. However, I didn't attend the event until Sunday. Hence, I resorted to shooting decaying leaves for my submission to Fifty-Two Frames. 

        I figured that since we have had such a long stretch of cold temperatures, I'd pay homage to the effects it has had on nature. That is, even though it's the end of April, some trees seem as though they've been trapped in the last few weeks of Autumn. The photo is quite simple, just a crisp leaf lying on top of an abundance of new Spring grass. Suffice it to say, this was not the original color scheme of the shot. The sunlight was pretty harsh when I took this image. Thus, quite some editing was required. First, I decreased the brightness and played around with the contrast in Lightroom. Thereafter, I edited the image further in Google+ Editor by adding the HDR effect and then increasing the structure and sharpness of the overall photo. Finally, I increased the saturation and added warmness to the final frame. I find myself particularly drawn to the slight twists and turns of the outer most leaf. There's something very beautiful about it, no?

        Since I'm posting this after my submission date to Fifty-Two Frames, I thought I'd include an example of the image I had in mind while brainstorming this week's theme. This capture was taken at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens during the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Cherry Blossoms

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