There's Gold and Red on the Hills, Finally

Watching the evening news on October 11, and the reporter showed a map of the autumn colors for New York with my Finger Lakes at peak.  One can understand the motivation by state tourism interests to overstate the situation.  Actually, we began to get widespread color ten days later.   Hiking at the Houghton Preserve in Corning on October 21offered some nice red and gold colors.

The ground was becoming littered with clusters of leaves on a mossy stream bank. Th light rain was easily ignored when balanced with finding autumn colors.  I met a nice couple from Baltimore who like to take a rest stop here on their way  to Ontario.  They reminded me how lucky I am to live here.

It is good to look for the unusual routes falling leaves take in their tumble to earth. This red and yellow maple leaf found rest on this low growing bush. 

It's now twelve days since the claim of peak colors.  The colors have spread more widely, so an excursion to Newtown Battlefield State Park near Elmira was promising.

The park road passes through a variety of tree habitats.  I've walked this road many times, but never before has the color been so golden.  There is one section where Revolutionary War re-enactments are held each September.  This rail fence lines the road to the re-enactment site.

At the end of the road, it was time for some hiking of the trails looking for more red and gold. 

The autumn colors must be balanced with fall chores, so my morning foray started me towards home with a final stop at the rail fence where another visitor came along (to stop and share ideas for other favorite autumn locations in the Finger Lakes.)

 

I meet the nicest people when I am hiking.

Thanks for your interest.

 

Paul Schmitt

Finding the Essense of Autumn

In the last post, my story was about how to create fall photography in a less than optimum autumn.  Since that post, there has not been a magical turnaround in our landscape. However, on return from 3-1/2 days in the higher elevations at Blackwater River in northeastern West Virginia, the results were a confirmation of the last post. Here goes the picks of the trip.

From the rim of the Blackwater River Canyon in the state park, this twisted tree captured my attention.  After many slight shifts in position, a layered image was discovered.  Notice that none of the three vertical tree elements on the left side touch.

The first version of this was captured with my iPhone 13 Pro.  I returned the next day when the light's direction was better.  If you first see a nice image, make it then.  There is no guarantee about the situation a day later.

On another day I was at Dolly Sods.  It is a high-elevation rocky wilderness area hosting sphagnum moss, heath shrubs and stunted red cedar normally seen in Canada.  There were rich colors.

Color was to be found also at lower elevations.  Once out of the canyon, the Blackwater takes a winding course with beaver ponds and less exotic flora.  In October, asters, such as this one, are a reliable source of rich color.

 

The valley had large clusters of  ferns.  These violet asters were complemented by the orange and yellow ferns. 

Here's a good example of my earlier suggestion to photograph now, rather than procrastinating for a better day.  After making this image, a local gentleman shared that the barn is scheduled to be demolished in a few weeks.  It won't matter how brilliant the fall is next year for this barn.

There are large bogs of huckleberries in Dolly Sods.  I was drawn to this setting by the lonely white stalk of a dead weed standing among all of the reddish leaves in the bog.  The distant mountain ridge suggests the extent of the field.

Many people are discouraged by a rainy morning, but the softness of the light and the moisture on the land can produce lovely results.  The last morning dawned foggy with a few sprinkles.  Several photographers passed this single dying fern without seeing the echo of its arch in the broken tree branch on the ground.  That's no criticism, but rather a simple example of the variety in what each person finds interesting. This is what my eyes first attached upon.  Do you find it beautiful?

I've always had a "thing" about decaying tree stumps.  Its only ones from natural collapses, never ones from chain saws.   The way falling leaves decorate the stumps in autumn attracts me.  Consider this one.

Oh, the fog had lifted and some delicious warm light bathed the setting.

I have been holding back with my two favorite images.  I love the creamy look of slow exposures on waterfalls.  If by chance, there is a recirculating eddy to include in the foreground, I will take some small personal risks to explore the possibilities.  The path there was sort of  goat path.  This is the Upper Elakala Falls in the Blackwater State Park.  

 I did a lot of small shifts to place the flat rock in the lower left corner.  Little details matter.

A second love for me is when form, colors and separation from the background just fall into place.  This one did.  Notice how the yellow-green fern is echoed by a brown fern in the back. 

There are nine images here.  Only two large landscapes.  The rest are intimate.  It seems the season may be best captured with a balance from wide to close.  If you look at the professional film and video, you will see how the framing is rarely repeated with each 10 second clip.    

Paul

Autumn 2023- No Colors, What to Do

The title says it clearly for the Northeast US.  In May we had a killing freeze that coincided with critical times for many fruit and forest trees blossoms.  Many oaks lost all their leaves and some of those failed to send up new leaves.  Fruit trees suffered as did grapes.

Then we had a dry period for a month.  Did not help.  The rain returned but damage was done.  The landmark red maple on my street that always has had  brilliant red is dull brown.  

What to do to salvage some autumn beauty?  I've got some ideas.

First, abandon plans for those grandiose wide angle landscapes.  Think small.  Here is a simple maple that had some nice red leaves on a foggy morning.

 Next,  go elsewhere for autumn.  There are late blooming bushes that are in flower like honeysuckle.  I found this on a walk towards Rock Creek Park in DC.  My phone camera was adequate for this.

Think asters. Fall is their season to shine.  These were in Mundy Wildflower Garden on Cornell campus.  The seed head on the grass stalk make this doubly attractive.

There are an abundance of fall flowers like asters, Black-eyed Susan's, and Goldenrod. Here's two of those growing together, also at the wildflower garden.

 

Fall is also fungi season, especially after some rain.  Just don't delay.  Mushrooms can fade quickly or become deer food.

Let's look at more fungi for ideas.  In this example, I composed so you can see where this golden cluster is to be found.

This last image is really going to an unexpected place. It's some scarlet fungi growing on a stack of rotting logs. Look closely and find the small green slug on the lower area. Not sure if it is passing through or feeding.  Either way,  red and green are complementary so I pulled out my phone and captured it. 

 

I have long felt that autumn is challenging.  There are expectations to find the expansive landscape view with so much included in one capture.  Looking closely offers more opportunities.  When the colors fail to be available, it's a perfect reason to look closely.  

I hope this inspires you to delight in the intimate parts of the season.

Paul Schmitt

DISCLAIMER: Due to the writer's strike and upcoming travel, my copy editor is unavailable to proof read my text.  Errors are of my own doing.