As I put groceries away I noticed that the leek I bought to make a pot of butternut squash soup later this week, had an interesting leaf pattern that could make an interesting photo. But because leeks are very dirty vegetables, it was covered with dirt. I rinsed the leek off and then the water drops on the leaves interested me more than the leaf pattern did. I set up my tripod and took a few shots but they were rather mundane until I shined an LED flashlight onto the leaves. Now we’re talking. This is cropped slightly and I added some clarity, increased the whites and decreased the blacks just a tiny bit.
This exercise gave me a chance to try out my new, lightweight Pistol Grip ball head tripod that I found just by chance at Costco the other day. It was the last one in stock so they sold it to me for $29.95 instead of the $120 I would have had to pay at Adorama and, because it was a Costco deal, it came with a carrying case that Adorama doesn’t have, so I think this tripod with will traveling with me next month for my Grand Canyon adventure with Moose Peterson. The ball head moves easily and it seems to hold well. My Nikon D800 and the 24-70mm lens together weigh over 5 pounds and it showed no signs of slipping.
Focal Length 70mm
ISO 100
f/16
1.6 seconds
Stunning! I love the point of view, the clarity, and the angle! Beautifully done!