Friday, 10 November 2017

The Fall Colour Season That Almost Wasn't

I guess that the fall colour season is, for the most, part over.  My last little foray into the outside world was met with sideways snow driven by gale force winds. As fall colour seasons go, this year's was not one of the best. We had an unusually warm September. The temperatures during that month were often warmer than what we had experienced in the summer. As a result, the trees were a little slow to turn colour. By the time we advanced to the colder nights of October, some trees where bare, some trees were in full colour and some were still green. The overall effect was kind of blotchy. We didn't quite get the sweeping grandeur of previous years.                                                                                              
View From The Cliffs, Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area, Taken 2 years ago. Canon EOS M, 1/160 sec.,f/11, ISO 400 


  My abbreviated fall colour tour  this year consisted primarily of a trip to Georgian Bay. My go-to destination when I can't think of anywhere else to go.The trip was under dull rainy skies and the photos I took were far from the sweeping vistas of colour from years past.                                                                                                                                                                              
Autumn On Georgian Bay, Craigleith, Ont. Fuji X100F, 1/125 sec. f/8 ISO 200

Autumn On Georgian Bay, Meaford, Ont. Fuji X100F, 1/125 sec., f/11, ISO 200.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                





     At Thanksgiving time, here in Paris, I was able to capture some photos for my traditional "Autumn At The Dam" series that I usually post on Facebook.                                                             
Autumn At The Dam 2017, Fuji X100F, 2.1sec., f/16, ISO 100 

Autumn At The Dam 2017, Fuji X70, 1/500 sec., f/8, ISO 400
     
     My last stab at fall colour photography was just two days ago. I usually go out in November, after the peak of colours, just to glean a little of what's left. For those interested, I wrote a piece about November photography on my old blog,                                            Multifarious Musings. http://multifarious-musings.blogspot.ca/2012/01/november.html
  
     

Autumn In Paris, Ont., Fuji X100F, 1/100 sec., f/11, ISO 200

     At any rate, this year's efforts in the field of November photography occurred on a beautiful fall morning. The air was crisp and still. There was frost on the ground that was just beginning to melt away as I made my way through a wooded area a short walk from my home. Most of the colours were gone although there was still a lot of colour in the newly fallen leaves on the ground. However, I did manage to find a few pockets where the trees had retained some of their leaves. 



Autumn In The Park, Paris, Ont., Fuji X100F, 1/250 sec. f/8, ISO 200

      But, a lot of my hike that morning was spent just shooting the limited foliage that was left.
Last Of The Leaves, Fuji X100F, 1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 320 


Autumn Trail, Fuji X100F, 1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 320

     If  "Much can be learned of the forest by the contemplation of a single tree."  I would posit that "Much can be learned of the tree by the contemplation of a single leaf."                                                                                                                                                                                
  Like this one;
Fuji X100F, 1/500 sec., f/8, ISO 320
 Or this one;
Fuji X100F, 1/500 sec. f/8, ISO 800
  

Or even this one;
Fuji X100F,  1/500 sec. f/8, ISO 320
  

     So, as the fall colour season comes to an end, I'm looking forward to an interesting winter. I landed a gig as official photographer for " Jingle Bell Night" here in Paris. It's a little downtown street festival  to welcome the beginning of the Christmas season. I recently acquired a decent speedlight (flash unit) for my Fuji cameras and, combined with some other lighting, I'm looking to do some portraits. Stay tuned. Things might get interesting.

     By the way; Thanks to everyone who reads my blogs. If you like what you see here, please feel free to leave a comment in the section below. Also don't be afraid to "like"  and/or share on the media platform of your choice. If you want to see more from the life of a small town photo freak, hit the "follow" button. I try to publish here at least once a month. 

                                    ...more later
                                                            Gord