Caught By Surpise

Looking through the trees with a long lens I came across these backlit leaves which stood out nicely against the darker reeds behind them. I wasn't expecting to find anything interesting there so they were a nice surprise.

I was able to keep the highlights under control during processing and still get the feeling of strong sunlight. The selective focus on the tree creates a slight blur in front and behind, further emphasizing the subject. I chose a square crop to enhance the feeling of intimacy and as the tree leans slightly to the right, I left a bit more space to that side, creating an asymmetric balance of the negative space.