Photographing the Splendor of Fall

With so much of good photography, being there is about 90% of the battle. If you’re fortunate enough to find one of these scenes in front of your camera count your blessings. Photographs like this are practically the definitive version of what comes to people’s minds when they think of fall photography.

When I was a boy, my mother subscribe to some fancy quarterly Christian publication that was full of glossy seasonal pictures. I’m taken right back to those wonderful moments alone with those magazines when I look at these pictures. Is an old mill near a waterfall surrounded by fall foliage a cliché? Of course. And that’s why it works so beautifully. Clichés work. That’s why they’re clichés. You should be so lucky.

 

Can you tell that I arranged these leaves for the still life? Probably. Hard as I may try, it’s difficult to come up with a realistic “posed” picture of anything in the natural world. I’m not saying you shouldn’t try, but I am saying that if people can tell you did it the picture is going to take a hit. Having said that, it certainly doesn’t keep these leaves from being any less beautiful. I have a large print of this hanging in my home and it’s stunning, if I do say so myself.

 

Believe me, I’m not picking on these two photographers for having fall foliage pictures that are over saturated. We have all been there. In fact, I highly recommend that you just get it out of your system. Crank up the color on one of your favorite fall photos and marvel at how beautiful it is.

But you need to bear in mind that too much color looks artificial and it’s important to keep things subtle and real. Real is everything. As soon as you step over the line, your photographs feel manipulated and you’ve created a barrier between the beauty and your viewer.

 

I think I speak for most nature photographers when I say they would choose a cloudy day over a sunny day most of the time. I think that’s especially true for fall foliage. You are going to hit the ball out of the park more often on a cloudy day than a sunny day.

Don’t get me wrong, I am certainly not suggesting that you don’t take pictures on a sunny day this fall. But bright sunny days cause lots of reflections on the leaves and you don’t get that beautiful saturated color quite as much. (Obviously broadbrush comments like that are ridiculous but I just have to make them.)

The downside of a cloudy days that you have a pure white sky. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Every situation is different. But a walk through the woods on a cloudy day with your camera this fall will pay back in big dividends, trust me.

 

I never grow tired of this. Spots of bright color mixed in with the earth tones of dying and sleeping foliage. It’s simultaneously sad and helpful. Often times, you will find this late in the fall after most of the leaves have fallen off the trees. Little spots of color here and there are a joy. It’s the ying and yang of fall photography. It’s life and death and the dance they do together.

 

It just doesn’t get too much better than birch or aspen trees in the forest when the fall color is out. The white of the bark reflects whatever is happening around it adding a stunning color cast, whether it’s the blue sky on a sunny day as in the top picture or the golden glow of the yellow leaves turning the trees to solid gold. People travel thousands of miles to photograph this event.

 

This situation is practically the definitive example of blue sky lighting something in the shadows that catches light. That intense blue happens when you are in the shade on a cloudy day and near water. That’s the blue of the sky creating that beautiful juxtaposition of cool tones and yellows and reds. I would have to be dragged away from this scene. My shutter button would probably have a fairly decent sized blister on it at the end of the day.

 

This is another situation that never grows old; beautiful yellow or red foliage reflected in water against a blue sky. Anytime you photograph a reflection of anything, that reflection becomes as much a part of the composition as the actual object itself. It’s easy to lose track of that. Reflections are sometimes even more important than the real thing.

 

This is for those of you who are willing to get out of bed in the morning. Most of the time, if you want to get that fog on the water the alarm has to go off while it’s still dark. But it’s always worth it. Standing out there early in the morning as the sun comes up with this scene in your camera is like going to church. I never understand photographers who complain about fog. Even a dense thick fog has photographic possibilities.

 

And for those of you who want to be at a lookout for sunrise, the alarm needs to go off ridiculously early. Once again, you won’t regret it when you’re finally out there. It’s not unusual for serious nature photographers to have the alarm go off at 4 AM, for example.

I once met a serious birdwatcher who told me that his usual wake-up time in the spring and summer is about 3:30 AM. Admittedly, that’s a little extreme, but if you want to view fog nestled in a valley at sunrise and the lookout is a 90 minute hike up…well, you do the math.

 

And making it to the top of the mountain is no guarantee of success. It’s one of the many life lessons of nature photography.  When the whole thing is fogged in you’re battling an incredibly low contrast situation and there’s not a lot you can do about it. You’re going to be thinking that fog is a bad thing. And the view through a telephoto lens accentuates the effect.

 

On the other hand, when everything is fogged in, the walk home can be stunning. The mood and quiet of a foggy forest in the fall is a thing to behold. Keep your eyes and your mind open to what at first glance may be a detriment.

 

This situation, on the other hand, may very well be out in your front yard. Once those leaves have fallen and created their beautiful blanket, however, they may not last long. Don’t tell yourself you’re going to photograph it tomorrow. Fall foliage is constantly changing, whether it’s in the trees or on the ground. A couple of hours of wind and this scene is gone.

 

If I had to choose one lens to photograph fall foliage it would probably be a telephoto lens. I will often go for a walk in my local arboretum with just my 80 to 200 mm lens. Obviously, it’s nice to travel light, but a long lens works in many different situations. You can shoot landscapes with a telephoto lens, but you also have the option to put backgrounds out of focus when you get close to low hanging leaves. I used the largest aperture I could get here. F2 .8.

 

And the closer you get the more the background goes out of focus. It’s a simple rule of optics. A long lens and a large aperture are what you need to shoot this photograph. Using an out of focus background AND color to separate your subject from the background is a difficult to beat combination.

 

Framing a building in the opening of a fall foliage tree is a wonderful way to shoot an architectural “portrait”.  It could be your home, it could be a school or a church, or it could be your neighbor’s house. Regardless, you will be doing the recipient the favor. Find a tree that makes a good frame and play around. Pictures like this have a tendency of appearing on websites and never going away.

 

When you find yourself near some fall color on a beautiful puffy cloud day take advantage of it. The simple, magnificent elements are nothing short of a miracle. Tree, clouds, sky, God.

 

I always love the juxtaposition of hard-edged, man-made objects with a hint of mother nature. I found this photograph walking down a street in New York City.

 

 And let’s not forget black and white, of course. You didn’t think I would, did you?  A dying vine on our garden shed produced this pattern of lines and dots. Sure, it’s not fall color, but never overlook texture and pattern.

 

This photograph, on the other hand, despite its lack of traditional fall color doesn’t do well in black and white. Those dull, brown earth tones with a hint of ice up in the corner create a poetic, beautiful mood.  Most of the traditional bright colors were gone when I shot this, obviously, but there is still color out there well worth documenting even after Thanksgiving.

 

And although our friends who live in the desert get a little jealous of those of us who live in the Northeast this time of the year— and who can blame them?—the desert holds its own palette of wonder.  Just as some serious nature photographers head for the maple trees of Vermont at this time of the year, many others make their pilgrimage to the Southwest where many of the great nature photographers of all time have not just chosen to visit, but to live.

 

When you start to look for, fall color is everywhere.  Food markets  can reflect the season as well as any colorful tree.

 

And, yes, I don’t think anyone is going to mind if you use one of those beautiful leaves as a prop for a portrait shoot. You can even pack it up and take it home and use it later if you want to. Anything goes. Let your imagination be your guide.

 

 I always hang back when I go for a walk with my kids in the fall. They become part of the landscape, part of the color palette. If you have children, it’s practically mandatory. TVs and iPads off. The hike is on.

 

The neighbors are not going to mind if you sit your child down in the tree in their front yard for a couple moments and shoot a wonderful, memorable portrait. In fact, they will probably be flattered. When you look down on a subject like this, distracting backgrounds are eliminated and everything becomes simpler putting the emphasis right where it belongs.

 

 I did a little before and after here just to show you how important a little spot of color can be a child’s clothing for a walk in the woods. Yes, I know, it’s a little compulsive, but you will thank me later when you look at the photographs for suggesting that you carefully dress your kids before you leave home.

 

I don’t know if Missy dressed her daughter to color coordinate with the red leaves and it doesn’t matter. She’s captured the joy of the season. I hope all of you have a chance to celebrate our gorgeous planet with your camera this fall.

 

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