Autumn's Final Act
I understand Hawthorne's sentiment completely. Even when the weather isn't "perfect," I feel the urge to get out there with my camera to document the final days of autumn's splendour. This third weekend of October was no exception. Although the trees in the Kawarthas/Rice Lake area were approaching their peak of fall colour, heavy, persistent overnight rain and wind threatened to disrobe the trees quickly.
3-image panorama. captured on County Road 38.
So it was that I found myself wandering the resort as well as the backroads near the cottage this weekend. The sky was overcast, but thanks to the all-night rain, foliage and fallen leaves were glistening.
Overcast weather also helps to bring out colour and detail, especially in close up work. The trick for those wide landscapes is to try to find scenes where the cloud cover has some visual interest, or minimize the sky through composition and cropping.
Or you can always opt for Replace Sky in Photoshop....
In my opinion, this will be the last weekend where the color is still more in the trees than on the ground.
It was the varying tones and textures of the reeds on the roadside that caught my attention.
Then, when I looked across the road at the farm and the expansive field and wetland, I knew where I would be aiming my camera next.
I made a couple captures of the field next to the farm; the contrast of the reeds and grasses, against the heavy grey sky, and when the breeze picked up, I saw an opportunity to capture the movement in those reeds and grasses. The movement of the reeds and grasses, contrasted against the heavy grey sky,
For a brief time, the heavy cloud cover broke and I was blessed with a beautiful blue sky. It was short-lived, but appreciated.
One thing I have often done in my photography, but more so in recent years since I've become a contributor to Adobe Stock, is to capture different orientations and focal lengths of my scenes. This is beneficial to art buyers as they have options without having to resort to excessive cropping.
I was fortunate in that the cloud cover I dealt with often had some detail to it. I was able to enhance that tonality in Lightroom, using the new Selec Sky masking feature, or linear gradient tool.
The sumach bushes were winning color awards everywhere I looked. Not only were there the fiery oranges and reds we normally associate with sumachs in the fall, but I was seeing some brilliant lime-green and banana-yellow as well. The bushes were practically glowing with colour.
What's a weekend in cottage country without a couple food and drink photos?
Overall, it was a good weekend to capture fall color, despite the weather. I hope you have enjoyed this project. Until next time!
