It seems like all the photo's I have seen of this brom they were growing in full sun

I realize now that this newish, huge book is half tree hugger stuff and half bromdex. In the entry for leptantha there are some better shots along with a detailed description, but in the end, leptantha is just one of the Gravisias. According to Leme (page 215) one of the differences between Portea and Aechmea is the length of the flower, 50-80 vs 25-45. I'm not sure if he thinks that is important or thinks that is trivial.

On page 216, he has an "in situ" picture of some flowering clumps of leptantha growing in full sun on the side of a small, rocky rise. These plants are still mostly light green but the bright orange of the prolific inflorescences and some shadows make it hard to tell what color they really are. Definitely plants for full sun. I'm going to start moving mine out into the sun.

Tropiflora has this book listed for $165. I'm glad my club picked up a copy so I can read it for free.