Boating for Color

Our fall colors are improving each day.  While they will not reach their peak for 1-2 weeks yet a sunny morning of fishing gave me the chance to shoot autumn foliage reflections on calm water.

A little low-hanging fog still lingers over the far end of the lake as the sunrise lights the western shoreline.

Autumn's following a dry summer are less colorful than those that experienced plentiful rainfall.  With plenty of precipitation this year our 2012 fall foliage season should be outstanding.

Foliage Reflection

 

Not only were the colors outstanding during this outing but the fishing wasn't to be sneezed at either.

 

Backlit Leaves

It seems like quite a bit of time has passed since the colorful autumn foliage drifted to the ground but going through my archives I found this one touch of color that I had yet to process.  I made the image one foggy November morning.  The combination of fog, wet leaves and backlight caught my attention as I was driving along a dirt road.  I tried a few different compositions with this one being my favorite.  I hope you like it too.

Fog

Fog can obscure subjects, particularly for the wildlife photographer, but it can also be used to the photographer's advantage. 

This shot was made quite early today with a light rain falling as Willard and I watched a meadow hoping for rutting whitetails to appear.  Hunting whitetails is always somewhat of a mystery.  Will I see any deer?  If so, how many?  Will any be bucks?  If so, how big?  Will I get the shot?   For me, this image of a mountain meadow shrouded in fog captures the mystery of the hunt.

 

Without the fog this scene captured earlier in the fall would not have gotten a second glance.  However with the suns rays illuminating the wisp of lingering fog an otherwise everyday scene in Pennsylvania's elk country becomes an image of beauty.

Bits of Color

Late summer's Bits of Color foretell the feast of hues about to unfold

Autumn

Autumn Abstracts

Autumn Abstracts

With our Autumn Colors peaking I wanted to do something a little different than shooting landscapes

A combination of camera settings and movement was used to create the following images

SkyWatch: Country Road

Bringing the car to a halt at a rural stop sign I glanced left then right and immediately forgot about traffic conditions as my attention was riveted by this home surrounded by brilliant foliage and framed like a picture by the bridge above.

After ditching the car I shot the scene from under the low bridge. The resulting image lent itself well to a panorama crop.

With only a small bit of sky showing in the image I still could not resist sharing it with my Sky Watch friends.

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Lines & Leaves

When digital renewed my interest in photography and with my graduation to the DSLR & telephoto lenses I found that photography compliments another of my passions, fishing.

Photographing waterfowl and other water oriented birds can become painfully boring at times when no subjects are visible. Fishing conveniently fills the otherwise dead time until more photo-ops present. Combining the two has proven to be a winning combination. During these frequent forays I have photographed a multitude of waterfowl species along with herons, eagles, dragonflies, and even my best ever fawn image.

Using the boat & the electric motor has proven to be an effective way to approach wildlife to within camera range and also allows me to maneuver for the best lighting angles. On the minus side, high shutter speeds and image stabilization are necessary for telephoto use as all shooting must be done hand-held. Using a tripod or other support worsens the situation by making a solid connection between the camera and the constantly moving boat.

Taking a momentary break from fishing, I used the colorful autumn foliage to provide a backdrop for a shot of the fishing rods poised for action.

Autumn Overlooks

After the rain Friday and Saturday, Sunday dawned a beautiful clear day. Finding some free time in the afternoon my wife and I visited a couple of the local mountain overlooks. With a slight chill in the air and warm sunshine it was a perfect autumn afternoon that drew more than a few sightseers to the high spots.

This first shot was taken from the Bark Road overlook on Sidling Hill Mountain just south of the Lincoln Highway.

Our next stop was at the overlook near the north end of Summit Road. The little village visible here just to the left of center is Hustontown Pa, a small rural village with only a couple of stop signs and no traffic lights

The Twist & Shake at Hustontown was our next stop where my sweet little wife could not be satisfied with only one small cone :)

Autumn Leaves

Our autumn foliage, although not at its peak yet, is colorful enough to entice one out for a nice afternoon drive through the countryside.

Our Sunday afternoon drive included traveling northbound on the Bark Road through a part of the Buchanan State Forest. In some sections the colors were quite nice

At one of our many stops my wife leaned over a small bridge with her little Lumix and shot this foliage reflection in the little rippling pool below. I think she captured the best shot of the day!

Too Big to Bite

Autumn brings with it a bountiful wildlife buffet. An apple tree situated in an old fence row is now a popular hangout for the local whitetails as they periodically check for the latest drops. The buck pictured here has found one that is giving him a bit of difficulty.

Freezing the action in still photos captured his comical facial expressions. Soon he changed tactics and anchored the apple on the ground where he broke it into two manageably pieces with his front teeth.

Changing Foliage

The calendar declares a precise date for the beginning of Autumn but in the natural world the change begins slowly with a spot of colored foliage here and another there. At first if one does not look closely the small hints can be missed altogether.

A single backlit red leaf shows off glows crimson red in the bright morning sun.

Yellows are also beginning to show as this brace of compound leaves shot during a light drizzle illustrates.

Spot of Red: Virginia Creeper

As the woodland slowly begins its transition to autumn Virginia Creeper displays its beautiful crimson colors while most other foliage is still green.

Searching for Autumn

Driving slowly along the mountain top road I continued my search for early signs of Autumn.

A patch of ferns with only a few fronds beginning the transition was the setting for this image. The frond’s brown colors brightened by the rainy dampness came alive in the dripping wet woods with a glow as if lit from within.

A few colored leaves hung all by themselves as if begging to be photographed before dropping into the leaf litter beneath.

Foggy Morning Excursion

Heading out Saturday morning I found the mountain top I intended to travel socked in with heavy fog. With the fog making wildlife photography difficult I decided to focus instead on the fog itself.

While Autumn is still a few weeks away and peak foliage colors not expected until the third week of October some hints of fall are beginning to appear. The fog and moisture enhance the colors in the bits of foliage that are beginning to turn.

First Touch of Autumn

Today dawned with heavy leaden skies with rain arriving in the afternoon. It was under these conditions that I photographed this maple tree showing the first signs of autumn colors.

I look forward each summer to the brief splendor of autumn foliage although I well realize that autumn splendor is followed closely by the cold grays of winter. It seems like only yesterday when the spring peeper began calling and the first blooms of colt’s foot appeared along our rural roadsides.

Perhaps it is only an illusion, common to us older folks, that time passes more quickly now than it did in our youth but it certainly seemed real today as I photographed the first color of fall.

SkyWatch: Autumn Skies

The soft blue Autumn Sky provides a beautiful background for the colorful foliage of an October morning in Pennsylvania.

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Autumn in the Mountains

Saturday morning I visited one of my favorite overlooks to photograph the sunrise

The reward was worth the drive

Blazing Colors

As the sun sets the maples surrounding the lake blaze with the colors of Fall


With the autumn foliage now peaking it is an excellent time to spend time in the great outdoors capturing vibrant images before the somber grays of winter dominate our landscape.

Capturing Autumn

Autumns colors combined with golden hour backlighting combine to transform this simple poison ivy plant into a beautiful scene of autumn glory.

Frequently the best was to capture the vibrant colors of autumn foliage is with strong backlighting. Backlighting allows the light to shine through the leaves creating a soft glow.

Falling Leaves

This evening’s blustery wind was busily ripping the few remaining leaves from the trees

After noticing the leaves sailing through the air it became a challenge to capture one as it sailed by on its one way trip to the ground. This endeavor proved to be no easy task and the beautiful evening passed by all too quickly.