Photo Challenge – Fall Foliage

Living in Pennsylvania I’ve found that my favorite season is Autumn.  I love the cool, crisp air, the pumpkin stands that pop up everywhere, and the colorful leaves…  Unfortunately, in the hourglass of life, it seems as though fall only last long enough for one of those colorful leaves to fall from the top of the tree to the crunchy (because you’re walking on all of the leaf corpses, stay with me here) earth beneath it.  This can make it a challenge to photograph the colorful foliage in all it’s splendor before the trees look like a naked dandelion after a child has blown all the white seeds into the air.

Tip: Watch your white balance, lots of cameras have difficulty with the various colors and shades of light they contend with when shooting colorful foliage.  I recommend shooting in RAW and adjusting the color balance in post processing or shooting with a manual white balance to begin with.

The challenge is just that, a challenge…  The weather on the East Coast is unpredictable because of all of the storms blowing through and the leaves are falling rapidly.  Grab your camera gear and capture some shots that emphasize the beauty that occurs when the chlorophyll breaks down in those little colorful mulch makers before it’s too late.

Tip: Over saturation is one of the most common post processing mistakes one can make with fall foliage.  The leafs are beautiful and it’s natural to want to make them pop a little more.  If things look dull you can try increasing your exposure slightly, increase the clarity, and reduce the highlights a bit. 

Don’t live in an area with color changing foliage?  Show us what signifies autumn where you live!  You can share your photographs with us on the Facebook page or the PhotolisticLife Flickr page.  As always, the best shots have a chance of being shared on PhotolisticLife.com.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

More from John Barbiaux
Photo Journal
The Photo Journal is where we will feature one of your (the...
Read More
0 replies on “Photo Challenge – Fall Foliage”