Details, details

Thanks in part to having to go out and find stuff to photograph, this year I'm noticing that the transition from fall to winter results in some interesting juxtapositions, like yesterday's greenery that was coated in ice. The one that caught my eye today was this oak leaf standing on end on top of the snow as if someone had pinned it there:



I started scanning the ground for others, and before long spotted this maple leaf standing out against the white; I'd actually come within about a foot of stepping on it as I'd walked along by the edge of the trees:



One great thing about photographing leaves against a pure white backdrop? Details like the latticework cell structure exposed as the leaf decayed absolutely pop:



When I crouched down to photograph this maple leaf, I got to see first-hand why it ended up with such a large divot at the base of the stem; the wind was strong enough to make the leaf spin and flutter around, yet didn't have quite enough oomph to dislodge it completely:



And to close things out, a close-up look at that same leaf after a wind-induced position change. Reminds me a bit of a stained-glass window, in a way: