Autumn Colours

There has certainly been a change in the weather, For the last few days we have had quite a heavy frost in the mornings and glorious sunny days, Tuesday evening i grabbed all my gear and headed off to Falls lake, The colours are at their best and will only be that way for a few days to a week unless we have heavy rain or wind and then it will be all over, The Lake is very low after a long and hot summer and where i shot you would normally be waist deep in water, There were a lot of deer and raccoon prints in the mud, I guess the deer were there for a drink and the raccoon were collecting the mussels that were now exposed, I had about 30 clear minutes before the sun would be too low and cast a heavy shadow across the trees on the far bank, I had lenses from 14mm to 600 as i didn't know really what to expect as i had only driven past before, Its good to have a range and the long lenses can give you detail shots rather than the standard wide scenic type, The wide shots were not that great as the sky was clear of any cloud to give some drama, When i got there the lake was flat and calm but as soon as i set up the breeze arrived and shot with and without the 10 stop filter to flatten the water, As always tripod mounted and cable release

Standard shot without filters


10 Stop ND filter added to smooth water

I shot using various lenses until the shadow appeared across the trees, I had a quick walk around and then as i turned towards my car i noticed the back lit trees under the bridge in the distance, I set up with the 600 on the D3s and just managed to get it in, The bridge gave a natural frame so i could see what i was going to get and its probably my favorite shot of the night

I had noticed that there was mist rising from the lake in the colder conditions so i was up and out before the sun rose and went back to the same place, What a difference, Thick fog so i turned around and went back to the small 3 acre lake that is on the community where i live, The conditions there were perfect and as predicted the mist was rising off of the pond, I set up and too a standard shot

It was clear that i would need to use a ND Grad filter to allow the bottom of the image to be brighter without blowing the sky


I used a 2 stop grad but think that a 3 stop may have been better as the sky was blue and not the off white here, The sun was rising and the rays were catching the coloured trees on the far bank nicely



A flock of Canada Geese landed as did a heron which didnt seem to put off by my presence which was good, Every night since moving in i have continued to put out some deer corn and dog food and every night it has been eaten, The dog food mainly by an opossum and there are 2 does with young, I have seen a Grey fox twice but its very skittish no doubt due to the 2 spot lights that i have over the baited area, It will take time but within a few months they will become more relaxed in a lighted area, The opossum has no problems with it and comes and goes all evening, One evening i watched it 5 times, The opossums here are very dark compared to where i lived before so that will make a nice change

Dave

Fall is a coming

There seems to be a slight change in the weather, its still beautifully sunny and warm -high 80's but the high 90's and low hundreds are behind us, The mornings are cool and the grass dewy, Fall is approaching and its time to make plans about getting up into the Great Smoky Mountains, Its an extremely busy place and it gets booked well in advance so i will have to sort my accommodation out in the next day or so, I normally head over to the Tennessee side but this year i will stay on the North Carolina side, There are a couple of areas that i have read about that sound excellent and i also hope to meet up with NC photographer Chas Glatzer for a day or 2 as he lives up there and will share some local knowledge which is not to be sniffed at, Last year the colors were excellent although the year before it never really happened so fingers crossed that we have a good one this year, The mountains are around 3-3.5 hours from where i currently live so not too bad, Where i used to go in Tennessee it was double that, Here are a few images from last year to wet your whistle

For those going this year make sure that you have the following
1.Tripod
2.Remote Release
3.Polorizing Filter
4.ND filter if possible around 3-4 stops
5.Patience
I found that my 24-70 on my D3s was my most used combination but i carry lenses from 14mm to 600mm so all avenues are covered, I intend to drop into Cataloochee cove so some wildlife will be on the menu so to speak especially Elk, Its one of my favorite times of year and everywhere in the mountains is a photo opportunity even from the car, North Carolina has over 1500 waterfalls in the mountains so its a lifetimes work to see and shoot them all

Dave

Fall/Autumn Photography

The winter of 2009 was a long one here on the East Coast USA as it was in Europe, Winter gave way to summer-we seemed to miss spring and boy what a summer, Here in NC it was a record breaker with nearly 90 days over 90 degrees and many of those were either high 90's or low 100's, I am not complaining unlike some locals-it was a stunning summer and although the long hours in a hide were uncomfortable and the hummingbird photography just didn't really happen due to heat i enjoyed the whole time and got some reasonable results which is the main thing, It doesn't seem that long since i was in the Smoky Mountains shooting Fall/Autumn colours but once again the weather has changed and the Fall is here, The leaves on the trees have a tinge of colour on the edges and its time to get ready to make the most of the short time when the colours are at their best, So what do we need to do to make the best of the Fall/Autumn landscapes, Well the first is to research the area in which you want to shoot as time is of the essence, So take in as many big landscapes as well as waterfalls and old buildings as you can, Here in NC where we have the Great Smoky Mountains with hundreds of waterfalls, Mills and just beautiful landscapes we are spoilt for choice so do some home work, There are lots of books on what's around, Where and when to shoot, i have booked motels in Tennessee and NC to take in Landscapes and wildlife and for the first time landscapes are top of the pile with wildlife taking a back step and with the wildlife i want to have them small in the frame showing them in habitat, So what kit will give some good results? I think a wide angle like a 24-70 on a full frame sensor and a mid zoom like a 70-200 will cope with most instances and the 200-400 range will cover most wildlife needs, The Smoky's will be busy and last year i got some Fly Fisherman in the rivers with the fall colours so drive around and keep your eyes open for photo opportunities, For the landscapes i will have some grad ND filters from 1-3 stops and most importantly a poloriser filter, Not only will the polariser boost the colours and take any glare off of the leaves and water it will act like a 2 stop ND filter slowing the shutter speed down which can be great when shooting moving water like waterfalls, I find the best conditions to shoot is when its overcast and rain can be a benefit as it really makes the colours sing-Don't be a baby and worry about your camera gear as you can easily keep it dryish with some care and thought and your images will just jump out of the screen-plus there wont be so many people around which really is a bonus, Low light will be the order of the day so a good tripod and head along with a cable or remote release are the a must to get nice sharp images, take your time and be methodical and it will all come good, Look around for some nice coloured leaves and don't be worried about moving a few around to give nice foreground interest

Dave