I’ve been concerned that my traditional fall images are becoming monotonous. This year I decided to experiment with new (to me) photographic techniques. Yet, concerned that my venture into a new realm might fail, I still made sure that I captured plenty of “standard” fall images. So before I reveal the results of my photographic experimentation, I’ll share plenty of the old standby type fall images.
Stay tuned for more fall images from my first 2024 walk in an Indiana forest,
Ken
As has become a tradition with my wife and I over the past few years, we spend some time in Indiana in the fall, staying in a cabin just a little outside of Brown County State Park, Indiana’s largest state park and one that has beautiful trees and attracts many visitors during the leaf peeping season.
This year the fall color was sketchy, slowly developing and never fully developed due to warmer weather and drought. As a result, we stayed a week longer than we normally would this year and even in early November, the fall color never quite achieved its normal full blown coverage, which is not to say that the fall was not beautiful and enjoyable, just not as good as previous years.
A couple of days after we arrived in Indiana, there was a full moon. So even though the fall color was just beginning to show in most trees, I went into Brown County State Park to shoot the moon rise over Ogle Lake. I arrived early to pick a location from which to shoot the moon rise. I have a couple of apps on my iPhone, which I use for determining where the sun and moon rise and set. I used one of those to determine a good shooting location, yet there is always some uncertainty in determining where exactly those events might first show up on the local horizon. After walking around a bit I picked a couple of spots that I thought would work well, then I retrieved my camera and tripod from my vehicle and went to my first choice, which was atop a concrete cover of an overflow drain for the lake, only to discover that a late day fisherwoman had taken that spot for some late day fishing. I had noted a number of fishermen along the north bank, which has a number of clear areas that seem popular with fishermen. I then proceeded to my second choice along the south bank at the end of the dam and set up there.
I made a number of shots from that location, while I waited for the moonrise. The lake surface had been rippled by wind, when I first arrived, but became very smooth and mirror like, when the wind abated.
Readers will note that the first two images in this post are the exact same composition. Yet the images are very different due to the clouds moving overhead.
While I waited, I kept an eye on my first chosen location, which had a good view right down the middle of the lake, hoping that the fisherwoman might abandon that location, which she did. I then went back to that location, making a few images there as I waited for the moonrise.
If viewers look closely, fishermen can be seen along the bank on the left of each of these images.
This lake is popular with visitors and more showed up as I waited. A few inquired what I was shooting and noted my wide angle lens, which I had chosen to capture the scene. I knew the wide angle lens would make the moon look small and I had some reservations about that. I had my 24-70mm and 80-400mm in my vehicle, which I thought about retrieving so that I could zoom in on the moon, when it came up, but I decided to stick with the wide angle to include more of the lake and forest in my images.
A local photographer with young clients came along, shooting her clients from the top of the dam with the lake and forest as background. I’m guessing she might have been doing engagement photos or some such social images. As she wrapped up her shooting, she asked me what I was shooting. She had not been aware of the expected full moon this evening. We talked for awhile and she mentioned how much she liked shooting at Yellowwood Lake in Yellowwood State Forest, which is not far away. I have shot there a couple of times, during past visits to this area. In fact, I had encountered a female photographer shooting a young couple there the first time I visited that area. I think the photographer I encountered this evening is the same that I encountered a few years ago at Yellowwood Lake, although I did not mention that to her. Small world.
Some of the passerby’s on the dam that I had chatted with, returned to say that the full moon was visible from the location, where I had first set up. I abandoned my first choice and hastened back to my second choice, where the full moon was already visible.
I made the image above from the dam, just above where I first had set up at the lake edge. I wanted to get some of the vegetation along the lake edge as foreground, before going down to the lake edge.
This final image is from the south lake edge just below the dam. Of course, I made numerous other images, but these are representative of those.
I am a little disappointed that I did not have my 24-70mm with me, so that I could change lenses and get a closer shot of the moon, but at the time, I thought that I would return again the next evening to shoot the moon rise again. Something prevented my going out that next evening. Lesson learned, take advantage of shooting opportunities, whenever possible.
More fall photos coming up,
Ken
This is the second part of my post on abstract images of fall trees via ICM (intentional camera movement).
These two images (above and below) are the same but with different editing applied. These are not realistic natural images, so I’m not bothered by artistic renditions via edits.
The same scene can yield very different results, depending upon the camera movement.
I must admit that I had fun creating these abstracts. Maybe I should do this more often and I like the vertical motion abstracts of trees much more than those created via horizontal camera movement.
Until next time,
Ken
One day at the cabin, I went out into the area around the cabin to shoot some scenes that had caught my eye due to the lighting on another day. However, today the light was not the same and the shots of those previously interesting looking scenes were not interesting.
My stroll around the area eventually led me into a wooded area behind the cabin and I still was not getting any interesting images. So I decided to try getting abstract images via intentional camera movement (ICM), a technique that I seldom use.
Usually, the most interesting images can be obtained via vertical camera movement with trees as the subjects. But I did manage to get a few interesting images by panning the camera horizontally.
I think the monochrome version works best for this horizontal panning motion.
To be continued,
Ken
Prior to any road trip, I always check the weather forecast for my destination, so that I know how to prepare for the expected weather. I’ve also learned to heed the season and expect the unexpected change in the weather.
This fall, the first few days of our visit to Indiana, the weather was much as forecast, then an unexpected cold front came across most of the U.S., dropping temperatures well below my allowance for cold outings. I had brought my typical normal cold weather gear and even a few chemical hand warmers, since my fingers tend to get cold even in mild winter weather. And once my fingers get numb with cold, I can’t easily operate my camera controls.
I knew I would still want to get out in the cold weather, so I purchased additional cold weather clothing and more hand and foot warmers in a local store.
Halloween morning was the first below freezing weather we had during this trip. I knew the cold front coming in over the warmer landscape and warmer bodies of water would result in early morning water vapor condensing into mist or fog. So I went out again to Ogle Lake in Brown County State Park early in the morning of October 31.
It was, indeed, a heavy frost morning and mist was rising from the lake surface.
By the time I had obtained these few images, my fingers, even with the hand warmers in my fleece mittens with the exposable thumb and finger tips, were so numb that I had to give up shooting. I retreated to my vehicle, started the engine and sat there until my fingers were warm enough to drive away.
I really would have liked to spend more time photographing frosty scenes around the park this morning, but I knew I could only shoot for a few minutes at a time due to the cold weather effect upon my fingers. I settled for getting one shot at an overlook in the park, before heading back to the cabin.
Until next time,
Ken
Even on days when I did not venture out for photography, my wife and I often drove through scenic Brown County State Park on our way to or from some other destination.
Occasionally, we might stop at
an overlook and sometimes I took time to get a photo.
Ken
This is a continuation of a foggy morning shoot in Brown County State Park near Nashville, Indiana.
There were occasional breezes through the trees and I did not try to adjust my shutter speed to freeze the wind induced motion, so some of the images may show that motion, such as that in the image above.
To be continued,
Ken
I initially photographed along a roadway through Brown County State Park on a foggy morning, then took a long hike through the forest. Photos in this post and a number in the previous post (part 22) were taken along that forest hiking trail.
The fog was getting thinner now and it became more difficult to capture the fog in my images. I elected to stop photographing as it was getting late in the morning and I was getting hungry for breakfast and caffeine. I’m sure the hiking trail was not of great length, but it seemed like it took me a considerable time to get back to a a roadway. Then I had to hike a considerable distance along a roadway to return to my vehicle.
Until next time,
Ken
Another early morning photo shoot in Brown County State Park, Indiana. I got lucky this morning. It was a moderately foggy morning with heavy fog in some areas. Foggy mornings here are not unusual and I had hoped to get at least one foggy morning.
The last two images here are essentially the same composition, but the last one obviously has a foggier look. That is due to shooting it farther away from the tree line and having more fog between the camera and the trees.
One has to be careful when shooting in the fog and when editing the foggy images. It is not always easy to get the exposure right and editing can take out the effect of the fog, if over done. I can’t claim to be an expert at either of these skills, but fog surely can add magic to some scenes.
To be continued,
Ken
Early morning photos in Brown County State Park, continued.
Remains of trees laying where they fell in the forest among the trees that are still standing and maybe ones that took the place of their fallen comrades.
There is probably a story behind the distortion in that bent tree trunk. Maybe a life’s event deformed it, in the same way that life’s choices, obstacles or stresses might change a person’s life path.
This concludes this mornings shoot.
Until next time,
Ken
