“And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.”
~ Oscar Wilde ~
Harriman State Park, NY
Everyone wants to capture great images this time of year. Mother nature puts on a color show of monumental proportions before going dormant for a few months. You might say, it’s a celebration of life before the decay. I’m fond of saying it’s the polar fleece season before skiing begins!
Okay… back to our leaf peeping topic.
Nyack, NY
Congers, NY
You don’t have to travel far if you live in the Hudson Valley Region (NY). To be honest, you may not even have to leave (not leaf!) your own backyard. Colors are abundant and fall foliage will last anywhere from 4-6 weeks. This isn’t a ‘you blinked’ and missed it event. There’s plenty of time to dust off your grown up camera(s), clean your lens and/or delete a few unwanted images on your smartphone to create more space.
Here are five (5) tips to help you capture the magic of fall...
Embrace the Light - Light is everything when it comes to photography. A. Sunrise & sunset are best for side lighting and shadows.
B. Backlight can render brilliant colors as the sun radiates through the leaves emphasizing the various colors of maple, oak & birch trees. Many consider the Sugar Maple and Red Maple to be the stars of the show as their fiery color(s) are front-and-center.
C. Flat light can be your best friend this time of year. Too much sun creates reflections and deep hues often get lost. Mother Nature to the rescue… flat light offers a built-in polarizing filter as reflections are minimized on cloudy, misty and/or foggy days and more saturated colors appear.
Think Outside the Box - Don’t be afraid to experiment. We all know the adage, learn the rules and then break them. Here’s your opportunity! Look for puddles or reflections, place a single leaf in the upper right hand corner of your frame, try a double exposure, perhaps shoot an image or two intentionally out-of-focus. Intentionally camera blur (ICB) can be extremely effective. The results may surprise you. Anything is fair game.
Change Your Perspective - The vast majority of photography are taken at eye level. Boring. Sorry. Just being honest. What’s wrong with changing your perspective? Change your camera level and the viewer will get a new angle. Shooting straight above your head can render a fantastic fall foliage image(s). People don’t walk/hike looking overhead, so the opportunity to capture mid-day light with the sun shining through the leaves is breathtaking. For bonus points - Shoot at f16 on your Big Boy camera and turn the sun into a starburst with multiple spikes radiating from the center.
Avoid Auto White Balance (AWB) - The AWB setting is good for everyday photography, but not for capturing fall foliage at it will attempt to neutralize the warm colors of the season. Change your white balance to ‘Cloudy’ or ‘Shade’ to keep the warm, subtle hues of the season in play.
Live In the Moment - Take a minute to reflect where you are and why you’re there. Without sounding too philosophical, you didn’t get to where you’re currently standing by accident. Plenty of things came together to make it happen. Take a moment to rejoice in the wonder. Fall is a delightful time of year and should be cherished. Put the camera down briefly and get lost in the magic of senescence (SAT word!). You’re pictures will later thank you!
Stony Point, NY
Rockland Lake State Park, NY