Fall is Here!

Sneffles Range Dawn © Andy Butler, Nikon D7100, 85 mm, f/8, 1/125 sec

Happy Equinox day! Autumn is a favorite season for many photographers. Here in Southwest Colorado, the forests are alive with gold from Aspen, willows and cottonwoods. Although reds are not as common, look around and you’ll find many Autumn hues beyond gold. 

While it’s easy to find great color and take pleasing images, after awhile you’ll find many of your photos look good, but also look much the same as everyone else’s. So it’s worth spending some time thinking about ways to make your images both technically better, and also more creative. 

Here are eight tips for better Autumn shots, from Peter Baumgarten. I especially like his tip to not let the weather stop you!

https://www.creativeislandphoto.com/blog/8-tips-for-better-autumn-shots

Nasim Mansurov, at Photography Life, has several good Fall foliage tips. His article features several images from the Dallas Divide area, near Ridgway, where the photo above was taken. 

https://photographylife.com/fall-colors-photography-tips 

One of his suggestions is to use a polarizing filter. which can really help to reduce specular reflections from foliage, producing richer colors. Another is to do your research into good places (and times) for the best Autumn foliage photographs. Finally, and always important, Mansurov reminds us to always identify what, exactly, our subject is. 

Finally, Outdoor Photographer has ten great ideas for more creative fall color photography from Kurt Budliger, at https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/tips-techniques/nature-landscapes/techniques-for-fall-color/.  His tips include using backlight, long exposures, long lenses (to isolate color) and a variety of other techniques to give your images of fall color a more unique, creative look. Well worth a read. 

Personally, I’m going to spend part of the first day of fall photographing one of my favorite locations in the Pagosa Springs area, around Plumtaw Road, with other Photography Club members. I’m hoping for a few clouds to develop. Enjoy the fall color while it lasts! 

Author: fotohiker

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