Fall on the river
Fall on the river
Fall on the river
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Jan, 2014Views
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Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
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Superb Composition
Exceptional Contrast
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johnny_renaissance
February 16, 2014
An image that could be enjoyed for hours and hours. Nice capture.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I took it on the shore of the St. Croix river, at William O'Brien State Park. This was taken on the trail next to the river, during a fall camping weekend trip.Time
I love how this photograph turned out. I wanted to capture the striking fall colors against the backdrop of the river. Every day during the camping trip I'd go for a morning and afternoon walk during the "Golden Hours", looking for the best light. This was in the afternoon, probably between 4:00 and 5:30 PM.Lighting
I really want the red of the leaves to stand out, and I wanted a different angle/focus than I usually did. I was trying to show off the contrast of the bright leaves and the utter stillness of the river, which was also striking tome. The lighting on the river I think does a great job of capturing the feeling of that moment.Equipment
A Canon Rebel T4i. I didn't have it for very long at the time of the photograph. No tripod or flash, normal settings.Inspiration
Fall is my favorite time of year, and the walks along the St. Croix at William O'Brien State Park are gorgeous. I kept looking for ways to capture what I was feeling on the walks, a sense of serenity and peace, and breathtaking color. The goal of this was to show all that in one image and I think I succeeded, in a unique way, with the leaves prominent in the foreground but also out of focus, allowing the viewer to take in and experience the stillness of the river as well.Editing
I did no post-processing on this photo. The only editing I did was to crop it some to make sure I had the leaves in the upper right corner to help balance the red in the foreground, and to make sure the tree on the river was centered how I wanted it.In my camera bag
At the time, I had just my Canon. Now I normally carry a 75-150 mm lens, and a zoom lens. This was taken with the non-zoom lens.Feedback
The golden hour plays a major role when capturing fall colors. I made a point of going on walks each day in both the morning and evenings, and was able to capture some wonderful images. It's important to leave enough time to get up and be at your destination before the sun rises or sets, otherwise you will miss the best times and shots. One thing that helps as I do photo walks is to try and have a clear state of mind, not think, and just read the landscape and my surroundings, trying to just let what I see dictate the shot. I take several shots usually, and look for the best one after. No one has to know how many shots you take to get that really good one.
