#27 Five Sisters
The toughest part of this shot was finding five perfect leaves from a Sumac branch. I expected all leaves to be the usual dark red, but was delighted when I found this branch with a splash of uniform yellow down the sides of each leaf.
I go to the greatest lengths not to disrupt nature; however, since the Sumac sheds leaf and stem in the fall, I decided the easiest way to capture this image on film was to cut the stem prior to photographing. My major concern was t hat the leaves would wilt shortly after snipping the stem. I proceeded to test a branch and found I had about twenty minutes before the leaves started to shrivel.
That night I got all my equipment ready for the next morning as I knew that time would play a significant factor in the success or failure of this shot. I located the Sumac the following morning and cut the branch just prior to sunup. I put the branch in water hoping to extend the freshness and hurried home to finalize the shot.
For those interested in technique; I used back lighting along with bouncing light back onto the leaves with the use of a mirror and silver reflectors. I also used a polarizer to reduce glare and insure the full saturation of colors... enjoy!
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