Backlit leaves with high-contrast clouds - an HDR

One of the things that is difficult when we’re just beginning is recognizing “good light.”  I suppose “good light” is a bit of a misnomer – it’s not so much that the light must be good, but you must know what to do with it.

Take the photo to the right, for example: I didn’t know what to look for at the time, but I was seeing these bright glowing leaves.  It just so happens that I’m reading Mountain Light, by Galen Rowell.  He comments on lighting over the course of the book: golden hour, dusk, off times, etc.  He also talks about the effects of angles of light on items, such as how to get greens to look their greenest, and why greens look brighter/more vivid in certain situations.

For the glow, he states that you look for angled sunlight, and have it backlight the target – be it leaves, grass, or what have you.  If you get it at the right time and right angle, you can expose for the surroundings and capture that glow tightly.

That’s what you see here. In hindsight, many of the shots I’ve been taking lately have been of this phenomenon.