While waiting for the sun to appear over the mountain behind me (to illuminate a foreground vista), I experimented with fill-flash and movement to produce a "quaking aspen" leaf.  If you've ever stood amidst a stand of these trees in a light breeze you are familiar with the origin of the common name.  If you haven't ever had the pleasure, treat yourself sometime--it' a marvel of nature.

To produce this image, I placed my camera on a tripod, releasing the shutter with a cable release while reaching forward with a stick to jostle the leaf.  I varied the flash, ambient light by changing aperture and shutter speed until I got the look I was after.

"The characteristic flutter of aspen leaves is the result of stems that are flat in cross-section rather than round. This adaptation gives them strength in the vertical direction while allowing them to twist flexibly in the wind..."1

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