Sometimes it’s about eliminating distractions.
I really liked the idea of this image. I saw the leaf in the mud and loved the texture and color. I took my time and arranged it just so. I photographed it from a number of angles.
But when I went into Lightroom to edit it, nothing felt right to me. Black and white, sepia tones, vignettes, desaturated, various presets; something was just off about it each time.
I eventually gave up and went on to other things. I just came back to it today (a week or so later) and realized what it was I was missing.
There were little bits in the background that were distracting me (and, frankly, pissing me off). The little bits of green grass clippings didn’t belong.
So I removed them!
How easy is that? (sometimes the simplest things escape me…)
There are probably still lots of things that could be done to improve this image (and, like many of my other images, I may revisit in the future when I’ve got some more experience and work with it again) but I’m much happier with it now. It looks more like I wanted it to.
Sometimes all it takes is just eliminating small distractions, tidying up so that the bigger picture makes sense. I have found this to be true in my day to day life as well, so this was a poignant lesson for me today.