Maple Leaf

I decided to have a little bit of fun with a maple leaf that I found on the ground under one of my maple trees.  The leaves, in general, have not all turned red yet.  There are a few that are turning yellow, but this red one was probably the result of a damaged branch or other circumstances that made it turn red early.  It caught my eye, and I wanted to photograph it in different settings.  In part, I wanted to play with lens and camera settings.  Here are the results of playing with a leaf!

I took quite a few shots of the leaf on stones, especially those with interesting lichen or other visually different characteristics.

I took a few pictures of the leaf on pine trees, as if it had naturally fallen into the boughs of the tree and nestled among the needles.

I tried a picture of the leaf against the bark, but it looks a bit too contrived.

My favourite series of pictures are the ones I took of the leaf against the stones that form the wall at the bottom of my driveway.  I liked the red leaf on the grey stones with the lichen and the pine needle debris.  It makes a good setting, I believe, for an autumnal feeling.

I moved the leaf along to one of my preferred tree stumps which has a covering of lichen and moss.  I like this picture too.

The contrast of the red leaf and the green moss caught my interest, and I tried a few different versions of this.

This one captures my favourite elements - the stone, the lichen, and the green of the moss.  I think it might be the best of the bunch, but I still love the ones against the stone wall.  I'd love to know what your favourite is!