Autumn Palette

I didn't make it to the North Shore this year for fall color but this shot from Bear Lake in RMNP reminded me of the splash of colors along the lake. Fellow visitors lend a sense of scale to the hillside showing it is in the mountains instead of the gentle hills of the Minnesota.

Colorado Roadside View

Our drive up Old Fall River Rd in Rocky Mt. NP was interrupted when I saw this in the side mirror I just had to stop and take a couple shots. Two chapters later, my wife's time measurement, we continued on to the next overlook.

Green

Hold that thought! It will be a memory for a few months. Recorded at Seven Mile Creek County Park, Nicollet County. This park will be closed for the season starting next April. It may be the last color a visitor will see in the park for a long time.

Orange

Recorded at Crex Meadows where the sky can have incredibly intense color. Depending on the weather it can also be very, very flat. We were driving into Grantsburg at the end of the day and the sky became this phenomenal color, needless to say supper was postponed.

Technical: WB 6k, Saturation +2. The color almost exactly as seen.

Autumn Ferns

I rarely use the technique of framing in composition but I couldn't resist putting these ferns on the lower edges to frame this October scene. The lines seem to form a diamond in the woods. This was taken along a country road in the Minnesota River Valley which is an often overlooked autumn location for color.

Bouncing Eyes

I find myself bouncing between the bright leaves at the bottom and the swirling water at the top. Back and forth I go, not sure where to stop. Finally I look around the image and notice the other leaves. 

Relationships

I am frequently asked what I like to shoot and the stock answer is nature, stills if it holds still and video if it moves. However the real answer is I like to shoot relationships. This  is an example of how a photograph can have more than one meaning. Is this David and Goliath, parent/child, small/big, or green/yellow? Let your mind wander, what is it to you?

Autumn Story

Most of us view autumn as the end of growth and the beginning of winter when plants hold there breath until spring. That's the main event but fungi are coming out of fallen logs and stumps, experiencing a growth spurt in the waning warm months of the year. 

Country Road

There is something special about a winding country road in the fall.  Is it the mystery of what is around the bend, either literally and metaphorically? Does it remind us of winter, of life, or something else?

Technical: 70-200 lens on a tripod in the rain, 1/5 second shutter speed, f 16.

Color Under Foot

The fall color can be overwhelming overhead and subtle underfoot. These fungi (I have no idea what they are) were on a log as we were headed to the car after a great day of photography. The question is, "Did you put the leaf on the mushroom?" My response is "Why would I put such an ugly leaf there?" If that sounds too much like a politician  the answer is no. However, I do frequently turn leaves or remove bright ones in the field. Enough confession for one day.

Technical: wide angle lens, standing to block the sun, cloudy WB

A Minnesota Icon

Wolf Creek Falls in Banning State Park has been recorded by countless photographers and I'm sure a search of images in  Capture Minnesota would find some incredible images.  So, why photograph an icon? To me this is not a photograph of the waterfall but a story of a unique time and location.  Shooting this icon is like shooting a maple tree in autumn.  The challenge is shooting it how you see it, not as how you have seen it. Good shooting!

Leaves in Motion

 I spent a couple hours at this pool in Wolf Creek at Banning State Park trying to get a good composition and working the shutter speed to get a swirl I liked. Technical: 2 second shutter speed, tone curve adjusted in Lightroom.

North Shore Color

I spent the morning looking for color along the North Shore with Gary Leeper (who is the author of an excellent North Shore guide book) and for the most part did not find any along Highway 61 to Tettegouche State Park. After sunrise at Palisades Point we headed back toward Two Harbors. Near there we climbed a short hill to find the best color of the morning which also highlights the green shoreline. Good color seems to be in pockets surrounded by brown or green.

Autumn Transition

Autumn photography is an exercise in composition using lines to break up color. The warm color is coming from light filtering through the yellow leaves. 

First Color

I finally broke free from office work and got out for my first fall color shooting yesterday. The overcast sky and light drizzle made the floor pop and diffuse light through the leaves was just right for the fallen leaves. Technical: 10 mm lens on Canon 7D, f22, ISO 640, cropped to HD format.

Smith's Rock State Park

This shot was taking after a great hike around one of the most popular sport climbing locations in Oregon. As one of afraid of heights I looked down more than up and took this shot. The larger rock is interpreted as heavier by the brain and anchors the image while the smaller stones lead me to the top of the image. Technical: Taken handheld with a Canon Elph. What is the difference between the two shots, a saturation or exposure adjustment? Answer: The larger shot is 1/2 stop darker which increases the color saturation of the water's color.

Last Color

I was hiking along Knife River yesterday and came across the last color of the season.  The ground leaves had already faded leaving this bush with the only color to be found.  The photo doesn't relay the noise from the overhead traffic on the Highway 61 Expressway bridge.

Clearing Fog

As we worked our way around Oberg Mt. the colors became more intense as the fog lifted.  This was one of those days when the eye and camera had a hard time working together to put an image in the frame.  So much to see and so little space in the frame!

Color in the Barrens

The oak barrens were named because their poor agricultural potential and widespread pin oak trees.  Through most of the year color is subtle or locally intense when wildflowers are in bloom. Color on the barrens is at peak now.  Recorded in Burnett Co., Wisconsin

Changing Color

This sumac leaf starts the fall color season, the intense reds will soon follow.