My original plan was to start publishing new “fall foliage” photos in the middle of September. This is when normally the colors start to change in Montreal.
But, this year everything is different. We had an unusual heatwave at the end of September, and everything still looks and feels like summer. Since I do not have any “fall colors” photos from this year, I decided to post my older capture. The featured photo is from last year. It was the very last warm and quiet day of the year. Only a few days later we had first snow, and vibrant colors of the fall were gone fast.
Loc: 45.42919, -73.68833
Shooting
The goal here was to arrange all elements into an interesting composition. I realized the sky reflection on the water looked much more appealing than the actual sky, so I emphasize the water by placing the horizon much higher than I originally intended. And, the duck is the focal point of the composition.
- Camera: Sony a6000
- Lens: Sony 16-70
- Focal Length: 29mm
- Shooting Mode: Aperture Priority (A)
- ISO: 100
- Aperture: F1/15
- Shutter Speed: 1/800s
- Bracketing: 3 (-1, 0, 1)
- Tripod: FEISOL Tournament CT-3442
- Ballhead: FEISOL CB-40D
Editing & Processing
It was a single RAW processing workflow.
Lightroom (95%)
I used Autumn preset from my Fall Colors Collection as the base for Lightroom Rapid Editing. Then I used TOOLKIT to boost colors and contrast. The Lightroom Preset Editing Formula: Autumn (1, 10, 14, 21, 32)
Photoshop (5%)
Cleaning (Stamp Tool).
Plugins: DeNoise (noise reduction), Topaz Detail (local contrast boost).
Total Time: 10min
The fall season offers a multitude of opportunities for capturing stunning foliage photos. By following these 12 ideas and tips, you can enhance your photography skills and capture the beauty of autumn in all its glory.
Before & After Transformation
Archiving: I save all my photos as JPEG (quality: 100%) at full resolution and with the help of the Lightroom plugin, I synchronized them with my portfolio on SmugMug for safekeeping, sharing, image hosting and online sales.
