Autumn colour...

It had been playing around in my head for a week or so; the idea of photographing the fallen leaves of autumn. Although the foliage on the trees is certainly changing in colour now, it still remains mostly on the branches. The good thing about it is that not all trees shed their leaves at the same time, so some beautiful contrasts are to be found if only one is prepared to look.

It is a grey, heavily overcast day with persistent drizzle, which from a photographic stand point is ideal weather conditions for such image making. Light levels will be low, but since I want to keep as mobile as possible I choose to shoot using a monopod instead of a more stable three-legged platform. Not ideal, but better than nothing, and certainly necessary with shutter speeds plummeting in the gloom. I know the flat light and the light rain will help saturate colours and add a sheen to everything, but I deliberately underexpose slightly to help things along.

It is also the time of year that fungi abound if you know where to look, but perfect specimens are difficult to find unless you get out early, as various insects and gastropods like to feast on them for breakfast, it seems. I take a number of token shots as I come across them (the fungi, that is), but my primary objective is the leaf.

After some concentrated hunting I start to find good shaped leaves, and photograph them where they fell. I end up with a satisfying series of photographs, but the best shot of the afternoon is that of a Lime leaf shown here, that seemingly glows of its own accord, resting in stark contrast on a bed of dead Sycamore.



24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/60th second at f/8.  - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 500. Monopod


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