FIRST CLASS PHOTOGRAPHY: LESSON 22 Fall Photography


I was strolling through our den yesterday when I caught my foot on the vacuum cleaner power cord and came crashing to the floor. When I hit I saw all sorts of Fall colors and some papers gently floating like leaves from a desk due to the shaking caused by the impact. While lying there I pondered, ”Was that fall really necessary?” It was then that I realized that I had stumbled onto this months subject for Apogee.

Now, Fall is much more dramatic in other parts of the country than it is in the deep South where I live. But we do have some changes in seasonal colors before the leaves give up hope and lose their grip on the limbs of the trees they have clung to all summer long. Down here we have to really keep an eye on the calendar and actually go out and take a look to see what and when it is happening. In more fortunate places like New England, it just slaps you in the face and you cannot escape the absolute beauty around you.

I have looked for some online sites that may help you find the best Fall color places in the US. I will list them here. I could not find any for the far West but am sure there are a few as we get closer to that time of year. So be sure to enter “Fall Colors” into your search engines and see what you can find.

Fall Color in the Eastern United States:

http://ncnatural.com/fall-color/

GHOST TOWN TRAILS (INDIANA)

http://www.cpcug.org/user/warho”lic/index.html

Nevada City:(NEVADA)

http://www.historichwy49.com/nvcity/nvcity.html

In case you are interested in the scientific reasons as to what causes the Fall colors, then you may wish to visit another site that I located:

WHY DO LEAVES CHANGE COLOR IN the FALL by SCIENCE MADE SIMPLE:

http://photoscience.la.asu.edu/photosyn/education/colorchange.html


If you live in one of the areas that does not have a lot of color in the Fall of the year, you may have alternatives. Many homeowners decorate their yards in interesting themes for the season. They can and often do make colorful shots. Many roadside markets sell pumpkins or cane that make very interesting and sometimes amusing photographs.

Even if you are lucky enough to live in a wildly colorful area with forests full of Fall color, do not forget to look for the individual leaf or combination of leaves that can make a nice shot. Do not get overwhelmed by the multitude of leaves on the many trees and forget the simple shots. When shooting small groups of leaves or flowers groupings of odd numbers (3 or 5) are more pleasing to the eye than even numbers (4 or 5) for some reason. I suppose it is just human nature but it is true. Shooting small numbers can be very effective.

Fall is your last shot before the grayness of the Winter. Do not let it go by you. Get ready, go out, and grab all the color you can find before it is gone until next year!

by Willis T. Bird

All written content (and most images) in these articles are copyrighted by the authors. Copyrighted material from Apogee Photo Mag should not be used elsewhere without seeking the authors permission.

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