burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

That's what the late Dean Collins (80's commercial photographer, photo educator) would call a "specular highlight," or a mirror-like reflection of a light source off of a shiny object (chrome, water, wet or glossy leaves, blonde hair in portraits...)

Specularity is the quality of a reflective surface that yields this burnout. Once 'chrome film or digital files reach the limit of how many photons can be converted to tone, there is no more tone.

A polarizer on the lens, combined with a polarized light source such as direct sun, may reduce some of that reflectivity.

If you had captured the scene in raw form, perhaps you would have digitized more data, which would be recoverable in post-processing software such as Adobe Camera Raw in Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Bridge, or Photoshop. However, if the scene dynamic range is great enough, "correct" exposure still wouldn't be contained in the raw file.

Our eyes see a much wider dynamic range than digital camera JPEG processors can stuff into a file. 12, 14, or 16-bit raw files can contain a lot more data than 8-bit JPEGs, which is why I use raw capture outdoors in bright sun. I know I'm going to "pull up" shadows and "pull down" highlights later, to lower the contrast range of the scene to what an 8-bit monitor or photo paper can display.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

No, but the light deflected off of it at a steep angle is very bright, and "burns out" the image by over-saturating the sensor elements with more photons than they can convert to an electron voltage.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Good thought about the polarized adaptor it could have reduced the reflection.

I shoot raw when it makes sense and it probably did make sense here but I wasn’t thinking about that at the time. (Too much Tequila the night before.)

JD750 Loc: SoCal

I have learned from this. I take quite a few photographs. I have never seen a leaf reflection so bright that it just blew out the pixels.

I thought it was a problem with my camera. I’m a bit disappointed that the problem was the 6” behind the camera, because I really want to buy a Z8. Lol.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The only time to shoot RAW is always.

I believe one edit / reply in this thread showed the (entire?) recovery of the highlights. Given the veins visible in the JPEG, there was probably plenty of detail to recover / nearly recover, if desired, from the RAW version, even the JPEG version. But, why would that be desired, other than maybe lowering -- not removing -- some of that bright reflection? That reflection was part of the view, and the SOOC crowd would fall off their chairs if removed from 'what the camera saw'.

TonyBot

Yup. What he said,

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Yeahhh, been there, done that... Tequila and I don't agree.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Exactly what I would have said 🤪 🤪

.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

I thought for a minute my Z7 was malfunctioning but it was just my bad eyes. Rats. If it was malfunctioning I could use that as a reason to by my Z8 now instead of waiting as I have planned. But now I have to wait a bit more.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I read the whole thread before replying, so I saw your flimsy attempt at an excuse for G.A.S.

relbugman Loc: MD/FL/CA/SC

Agree with the ‘highlight hypothesis’; BUT, what’s the tiny dangle behind and to the right? It’s at the bottom of the dark thin vertical triangle next to the highlight on the leaf behind, ENE in the red circle, very tiny.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I thought it was a fairly worthy effort. The mistake was that he probably should have spent more energy to convince himself and less working to convince us. Probably could have a new camera on order.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Sounds like you have experience in this area

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

The problem is that he and I are both engineers. We will eventually fall in the face of logic most of the time.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Yep I resemble that remark. I thought it was a decent effort too, and you are right about convincing myself. ;)