Longing for Colorful Fall Leaves and Chilly Autumn Breezes
As we slog through the final days of summer, I find myself longing for my favorite season: FALL. Cool autumn breezes, colorful fall leaves, warm beverages, scarves, and boots!
We aren’t there quite yet (at least in Southern California), but I realized that I captured a series of fall leaves photos last year and never shared them! This seems like the right time to correct that oversight.
California doesn’t have the colorful forests like other parts of the country, but luckily, we have a few trees in my neighborhood that turn the most beautiful colors as autumn cools us down. I gathered a few of the most stunning fall leaves I could find and brought them into my home studio.
I took a few photos, and then as I was tidying up, I couldn’t bring myself to throw away those perfect leaves. Instead, I left them out and the next morning they had started to dry and curl. That’s when things got interesting. I started seeing some personality in their shaps, so I pulled my camera back out and this is what I got:
Aren’t they lovely!? I was so taken with their transformation that I left them on my table for another day to see how they would change. These incredible autumn leaves developed even more personality.
Even now, I find myself drawn into their shapes and colors and the remarkably beautiful way that they aged. Autumn will be here soon and I’ll pick up more leaves and see what inspires me. Who knows!? This might become an annual series.
Capture and Processing Notes
All photos in this series were captured with my Canon R6 and RF 24-105 f/4L lens using in-camera focus stacking (stacks ranged from 10-30 exposures per finished image). Processing was done in Helicon Focus, Lightroom Classic, and Photoshop.
Do you have a favorite? Let me know in the comments below! (Prints available)
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I love these. What black surface did you use for capturing these?
Thanks so much, Zay! I have a board that I picked up at my local home improvement store’s lumber section (Lowes) that is a white board on one side (like a dry ease board) and black on the other. I had it cut down in store to be the same size as my Replica Surfaces https://www.replicasurfaces.com/ so I can mix and match with the other patterns/textures that I have. It works great and was very inexpensive.
Thank you so much. I had seen references to the replica surfaces, but had not looked into purchasing them. And, I will check at Lowe’s for the item you described. Thanks, again.
Angela, I am aware of the new releases of Replica Surfaces later this week. Having never owned any of the surfaces, do you recommend the storage sleeves to protect the surfaces or ae they not needed? Thank you for your assistance.
Hi Zay – I haven’t purchased the sleeves myself. They come in a sleeve of sorts for shipping and I’ve kept and reused those. They’ll fall apart on me one day and then I’ll probably buy the nicer ones, but for now, the shipping ones work just fine for me. I also keep my surfaces in a soft-sided art portfolio that I purchased before they created their own bag. My bag is a bit longer than the ideal size, but it works and was a fraction of the cost of the bag they sell (but their bag does look very nice!).
You’re the best! Always generous and helpful! Thank you.