On this visit to the Soldier Creek Wilderness, I was shooting with a 50mm lens at f/2, looking for ways to embrace the limited depth of field and softened rendering. This lens can be sharp wide open, but the plane of focus must be just right. I found this partially fallen tree in the shade, draped with red leaves, against a background of livelier trees. Fall colors went quickly this year thanks to some early snow. The dark shapes of the foreground tree provide contrast against the more colorful background, while the spots of red up front add a useful dynamic to create an additional plane of foreground material. Plenty of chaos within the smaller branches, but the large trunk on top anchors things.
