I made multiple trips to this spot, mostly because I was chasing the light I needed. At our latitude during this time of year we get such hard shadows, and on a cloudless October sky there’s so much nasty blue light bouncing around that it can be hard to get a decent photo of just about anything. It can be really frustrating!

That’s why I invest in a lot of little photo gadgets to make life – and photography – more interesting. Part of photography’s appeal for me is the problem-solving aspect of it. In this case, it was as simple as bringing a lightweight field stand, a reflector, and a single weight bag to generate my own shade so I could get some fall foliage photos (say that tree times fast) without being blasted by that low, harsh sunlight.

With the sunlight sufficiently diffused, it was time to go to work. With rainbows of colored leaves like this, it was a photographic playground. There were so many photogenic angles! It was paradise.

Wow. This location paid off big time. Reds, oranges, yellows, greens…it’s all right here. Then there are the curves of the stalks, branches, and leaves. It’s magical. In fact, let’s meet back here tomorrow!