Tag:autumn

frozen leaves

Unleash the Magic: Tips for Capturing Photos of Leaves in Ice

Back in 2020, I did a post on photographing flowers frozen in ice. Fast forward to 2023, and with autumn coming on, I decided to try the same thing with autumn leaves. Not having frozen-over lakes here in Australia, I again commandeered the freezer. The turning leaves tell a story of the approaching winter chill and colder nights. Encased in ice, that story added a new level.

The frozen leaves also create interesting patterns and textures in the ice. And a bonus is that leaves in ice can be done in the comfort of your own home without having to brave the cold!

Supplies

Apart from your camera (and you could use a phone camera), you will need the following;

  • a plastic container to fit your leaves
  • water (tap, distilled or demineralised – all will give different effects)
  • an assortment of leaves
  • ice cubes.

Look for different shapes and colours of autumn leaves; you can even add some gum nuts or acorns. Both tap, distilled and demineralised water will work. However, demineralised water will be less cloudy than tap or distilled water. However, I have found that tap water also becomes clearer as the ice starts to melt.

autumn leaves in ice
Method

Freeze around 5cm (1 inch) of water in your container. When frozen, take the container from the freezer and arrange your leaves on top of the ice.

step one freezing the Leaves
Leaves sitting on top of the frozen bottom layer of tap water

Next, place a couple of ice cubes on top of each leaf. This will keep them in place and stop them from floating when you add more water. Once you complete step 5, the ice cubes become almost invisible, but they add more detail to the ice block.

Note: With the flowers in 2020, I just added a couple of mm of water to anchor them, but the leaves are much lighter and float, hence the ice cubes hack.

step two of freezing the leaves
Ice cubes on top of leaves

Add a small amount of water to the container,  just a cm or so, to ‘glue’ the leaves into ice when it freezes. Return the container to the freezer

Photographing Leaves in Ice
small amount of water (tap again) is added to attach the leaves to the ice below

Final step – Take the frozen container from the freezer and top it up with water to cover the leaves by a cm or so. Return to freezer.

Photographing the ice block

Once your block of leaves in ice is frozen solid, it’s time to have some fun. If using a camera, you can use a standard lens or macro. The back (or bottom) of the block is the best side to photograph as the air bubbles start there; it’s also perfectly flat and smooth, and it’s closest to the leaves.

Leaves frozen in ice
Tap water – Just out of the block with everything still very frozen
Olympus 12-100 mm lens F11, ISO 200, 1/25 sec at 41mm

Flash really won’t work with the ice, though you can use soft boxes, paying careful attention to reflections or hot spots. However, I prefer natural light. You can set it up in front of a window with well-diffused light (or outside if you have a good, flat surface). If doing it inside against a window, you need one where the sun isn’t shining directly on the block. Take your block from the freezer, and leave it on the bench for 5-10 mins, allowing it to melt just enough to pop out cleanly or run some cool water over the back of the container, and it will pop straight out.

Leaves frozen in ice
Same block, an hour later. It’s not quite as cloudy, and the leaves are more visible.
Olympus 12-100 mm lens F11, ISO 200, 1/25 sec at 41mm
Setting up the shoot

If photographing inside, place a small table in front of the window, and if using a glass-top table, place a folded paper towel under the block. It will stop it from it sliding. Putting a bath towel or paper towel under the table to absorb the melting water is also a good idea. Stand the block upright on the paper towel so the block is backlit. You can also photograph the leaves in ice straight down with the block on a towel, but the colour of the towel will show through, so give some thought to that. I prefer it upright, so the light brings out all the bubbles and cracks in the ice. It also nicely highlights the leaf veins when backlit.

Leaves frozen in ice
In the third hour, ice is now relatively thin on the back, exposing the leaves and nuts more.
Olympus 60mm Macro 1/15 sec, F11, ISO 200.

The weather was a balmy 30C the day I took my shots, so I stood the block on the veranda railing outside. It gave me good filtered light and no mess with the water dripping onto the garden bed below. I ran off some shots and left it for half an hour, shot some more and left it again.

Leaves frozen in ice
Tap water – Backlighting exposes the veins in the leaves
Olympus 60mm macro, 1/4 sec, F11, ISO 200
Settings

F11 to F16 will give you the best depth of field

ISO 100-400

Shutter speed – watch the highlights, but if backlighting, overexpose by about 0.7 so your leaves aren’t in shadow.

You will need a longer shutter speed depending on the light in the room, so place your camera on a tripod. However, it’s more important to have a good depth of field than a faster shutter. So stay between F11 and F16 and adjust the shutter speed accordingly. For all images above, I used aperture priority.

Once you have taken enough shots with the solid ice, allow it to melt naturally or speed things up with a hairdryer. You will get different images as it melts and partially exposes the leaves. The detail also comes out in the leaves more as it melts and becomes thinner.

frozen ornamental grape leaves
Ornamental Grape leaves in distilled water
Editing your shots

I edit in Photoshop, but Lightroom’s slider settings are the same. Bring the highlights down to -100, Shadows +25, Texture +30, Clarity +25, Dehaze +16 and Vibrance +50. In Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), you can synchronise the settings across all the images to save having to edit one by one.

Syncing in Lightroom
  • Make the changes to your first image either using your favourite preset or the slider suggestions above.
  • While the first image is highlighted, click and highlight the other images you want to edit by holding down the SHIFT key (CMD on a Mac) and then clicking on the last image you want to edit.
  • Click the Sync button, which is found on the lower right-hand side of the screen at the bottom of the Develop Panels.
  • A synchronise settings menu will pop up. Just click Synchronise
  • The same settings will be applied to all images.
frozen ornamental grape leaves
Partially defrosted distilled water with a thin crust of ice on top of the leaf
Syncing in Photoshop ACR
  • Adjust the sliders using the settings above or your preferred preset/settings
  • Right-click on the image in the filmstrip and click ‘copy edit settings.’
  • with the first image still highlighted right, click on the last image in the filmstrip and select “paste edit settings”
  • Next, click Open (or open as Object if you prefer to work with smart objects)
  • from here, you can edit with your regular workflow
leaves, frozen in water with air bubbles
Grape leaves in distilled water

Frozen leaves are a beautiful and fascinating natural phenomenon that occurs naturally during the winter months in colder climates. However, they can still be photographed in warmer climates using the above method. While they may seem simple at first glance, frozen leaves are complex structures with intricate patterns and colours. Whether you’re a nature enthusiast, a photographer, or just someone who enjoys the beauty of winter, frozen leaves are definitely worth exploring and admiring.

mount wilson, nsw

The Beauty of Mount Wilson, NSW

Mount Wilson is a small village in the heritage-listed Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia.  It is known for its picturesque gardens, historic homes, and proximity to scenic hiking trails and national parks.

blue mountains
Autumn colours

During the autumn months, many trees undergo a process called leaf senescence, in which they lose their chlorophyll, and their leaves change colour before falling off the tree.  The exact process that causes the leaves to change colour varies depending on the tree species, but it is usually caused by decreasing daylight hours and temperatures.

mount wilson

The most common colours in autumn leaves are red, orange and yellow.  However, as the chlorophyll breaks down, other pigments in the leaves, such as carotenoids, which produce yellow and orange hues, and anthocyanins which produce red, purple and blue hues,, become more visible.  This process creates a beautiful display of fall foliage lasting for several weeks.  Some of the most popular trees known for their autumn leaves are maple, oak, aspen, and dogwood.

Spring
cyclamens at mount wilson

During the spring months, the gardens in Mount Wilson come to life with vibrant colours as the flowers bloom.  The gardens in Mount Wilson offer a wide variety of flowering trees, shrubs and perennials, making it a perfect destination for nature lovers and photography enthusiasts.  The village is also a popular destination for tourists during spring, as many visitors come to see the gardens in full bloom.

Autumn

The gardens in Mount Wilson also offer a different view during autumn, where the fall colours of the leaves and flowers are on full display, making it an ideal place for photography enthusiasts.

mount wilson
Private Gardens

All the gardens at Mount Wilson are private; consequently, not all are open year-round, nor do they offer free entry.  The cost varies from garden to garden but on average, it’s around $10 pp.

Breenhold Gardens

One of the best gardens, if not the best, at Mount Wilson is the heritage-listed Breenhold Gardens.   The garden was established in the early 1900s and covers an area of about 45 hectares.  It is known for its extensive collection of azaleas, rhododendrons, and camellias.  The garden is also home to many other exotic and native plants, including an extensive collection of ferns, a rock garden, and a lily pond.

Laburnum Steps at Breenhold
Laburnum Steps at Breenhold

Breenhold Garden is open to the public during spring and autumn, when the garden is at its best and most plants bloom.  The garden has won several awards for its beauty and has been featured in many gardening magazines.  Breenhold Garden is also a well-known wedding venue in NSW.

Row of Confiers at Breenhold
The row of Confiers at Breenhold

An autumn favourite for us when we visited Breenhold was the Laburnum steps and the row of conifers near the entrance.

Featured on better homes and gardens show

29 The Avenue, Mount Wilson NSW 2786, open 10 am to 4 pm daily during autumn and spring

Autumn and spring gardens

Merry Garth: Along Davies Lane to Galwey Lane, Mount Wilson
Open Wednesdays and weekends during April

Nooroo: Church Lane, Mount Wilson 

Sefton Cottage: 21 Church Lane, Mount Wilson

Yengo Sculpture Garden:  11 Queens Ave, Mount Wilson

Little red gate at Bebeah gardens Mount Wilson
Little red gate at Bebeah gardens Mount Wilson

Open most of the year is Bebeah (with the famous little red gate) at The Avenue, Mt Wilson and Windyridge in Queens Ave, Mt Wilson.   The Cathedral Reserve is also worth a visit with rows of plane trees, limes, elms, beeches, liquid ambers and pink cherries.

Autumn in Victoria: A Guide to Capturing Its Colours

Autumn in Victoria is a season renowned for its beauty, colourful landscapes, and crisp, cool weather. During this time of year, nature puts on a show. The leaves change colour and fall to the ground, and the landscape is painted with warm shades of red, orange, and yellow. As a result, autumn is a popular season for photography and enjoying the changing seasons.

Autumn in Victoria: A Guide to Capturing Its Colours
Warburton, Victoria
Popular Autumn Trees

Many trees are known for their vibrant autumn colours. Some of the most popular trees for autumn colour include:

  • Maple trees: including the Sugar Maple, Red Maple, and Japanese Maple. These are known for their brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow.
  • Oak trees: including the Pin Oak, Northern Red Oak, and Scarlet Oak, are known for their vibrant orange and red leaves.
  • Dogwood trees: are known for their bright red and purple leaves.
  • Aspen trees: known for their shimmering yellow leaves and quaking habit.
  • Birch trees: including the River Birch and Paper Birch, are known for their golden yellow leaves.
  • Ginkgo trees: are known for their distinctive fan-shaped leaves that turn a brilliant yellow in autumn.
  • Sassafras trees: are known for their bright orange and yellow leaves.

While we live in a land of gum trees, many traditional gardens in Victoria over autumn are still awash with colour in autumn.

Autumn Gardens to visit
Autumn in Victoria: - forest glade gardens
Forest Glade Gardens, Mt Macedon

I posted on autumn gardens back in 2020, but the list has since grown to include the following:

  • The Gardens of St Erth: 189 Simmons Reef Road, Blackwood, Victoria. The gardens are just 16 mins from Trentham Falls, so you can get autumn colours and waterfalls that day.
  • Dandenong Ranges Botanic Gardens, formerly known as the National Rhododendron Gardens: The Georgian Road, Olinda
  • Forest Glade Gardens, located in Mount Macedon, is a stunning location in autumn for a breathtaking display of autumnal foliage.
  • Burnley Botanic Garden: This is known for its autumn gardens, including the beautiful Japanese garden.
  • Andrie Park, Malvern: Ardrie Park in Malvern boasts elm trees that are over 100 years old.
  • Williamstown Botanic Gardens feature a variety of deciduous trees that put on a brilliant display of autumn colour, with leaves turning red, orange, and yellow shades.
  • Maroondah Reservoir Park: The trees create a brilliant display of oranges, yellows, and reds in autumn. Also within the park is the Rose Stairway, lined with roses and other flowering plants. It also usually has a carpet of autumn leaves on it, making the stairway a great image.
  • Arthurs Seat State Park: Located in Arthurs Seat, it covers 84 acres and is set on a hilltop with panoramic views of the surrounding area and the autumn foliage of the trees.
  • Kyneton Botanic Gardens: established in 1858,  has many European trees that are an explosion of colour in autumn.
warburton - Autumn in Victoria:
Get the complete list

No list is complete without mention of Honour Avenue, Mount Macedon. The avenue is lined with Pin Oak trees and honours the 154 men and women from the Mount Macedon area who fought in WWI. It’s a massive drawcard over autumn, so much so that they put temporary traffic measures in place. Therefore, it’s best to avoid going on weekends. Try to get there before 9 am as they close the road at 9 am during autumn.

The complete list of gardens from this post and the previous one is available for download in pdf format HERE.

Honour Avenue, Mt Macedon
Honour Avenue, Mt Macedon
Lenses for autumn photography

The best lens for autumn photography depends on the type of photos you want to take and your photography style. However, my favourites to carry with me are:

Wide-angle lens: A wide-angle lens is excellent for capturing autumn’s grand vistas and sweeping landscapes.

Zoom lens: A zoom lens provides versatility and allows you to capture a range of focal lengths. This makes it a good option for taking wide and close-up shots of autumn scenery.

Macro lens: A macro lens is ideal for close-up shots of autumn leaves, berries, and other small details.

Telephoto lens: A telephoto lens is perfect for capturing distant autumn landscapes. Additionally, its great for compressing the depth of field and separating the foreground from the background.

Autumn in Victoria: A Guide to Capturing Its Colours
Settings for autumn photography

No one setting will be perfect across all conditions, and you will naturally need to adjust for available light. For example, while autumn is usually not as windy as spring – wind still needs to be factored into the shutter speed to avoid blur.

Aperture

 The aperture controls the field depth and can isolate autumn leaves and other details in the foreground or background. A small aperture (e.g., f/16) will give you a large depth of field and keep more of the scene in focus. Conversely, a large aperture (e.g., f/2.8) will provide you with a shallow depth of field and create a blurred background. Thus making the autumn leaves stand out more.

Autumn in Victoria: A Guide to Capturing Its Colours
Shutter speed

Shutter speed determines the amount of light that enters the camera and can affect the sharpness of the image. If you’re shooting in low light, you may need to use a slower shutter speed to let more light in. Conversely, a faster shutter speed may be necessary to avoid overexposure if you’re shooting in bright sunlight.

vineyards in autumn
vineyards are also a great location for autumn photography
ISO

ISO determines the camera’s sensitivity to light and can affect the image’s graininess. For autumn photography, a lower ISO (e.g., 100-400) is usually best to keep the image sharp and reduce grain.

Autumn in Victoria: A Guide to Capturing Its Colours
White balance

White balance affects the image’s colour temperature and can be set to match the scene’s lighting conditions. For example, for autumn photography, a warmer white balance setting enhances the colours of the autumn leaves. With this in mind set your white balance to ‘shade’ or ‘cloudy’. However, if you shoot RAW, your WB can always be adjusted in post-processing.

Filters

A circular polarizing filter (CPL) is very useful. It can intensify the colours of autumn leaves and sky while getting rid of unwanted glare and reflections from different surfaces. With a CPL, you can achieve more vibrant and richer colours in your pictures. However, using a CPL will cut out around 1-2 stops of light, so you will need to adjust your shutter speed.

Tieve Tara Gardens, Mt Macedon
Tieve Tara Gardens, Mt Macedon

When using a CPL for autumn photography, it’s best to have the sun at a 90-degree angle from your subject. This means that the sun should be to the subject’s side rather than directly in front or behind it. Having the sun at a 90-degree angle will allow the CPL to effectively reduce glare and reflections on the leaves, sky, and other surfaces.

Additionally,  you can rotate the filter to control the amount of polarization, affecting the colours’ intensity. For example, a strong polarization effect can make the autumn leaves and sky appear darker and more saturated. In contrast, a weak polarization effect can create a more natural and subtle effect.

Backlit images

Backlighting your autumn subjects can create dramatic and visually striking images. The sun shining through the autumn leaves will illuminate the colours and details. When shooting a backlit photo, avoiding the midday sun is essential. Shooting in the golden hour will give you much better results with the lower light. Using a tripod to ensure sharpness in your images is also necessary. As you shoot into the light,  the camera may underexpose the image due to the sun’s brightness. Use your camera’s exposure compensation to adjust the exposure and capture the correct brightness level.

Autumn in Victoria: A Guide to Capturing Its Colours
Backlit leaves

Using a lens hood can help to prevent lens flare and keep the sun from entering the lens, which can cause bright spots and reduce the contrast in your images. Try shooting from different angles to capture the backlit leaves uniquely and creatively. For example, you can shoot from below the trees, looking up at the sun shining through the leaves, or from a higher angle, looking down at the leaves with the sun shining behind them.

canon 16-35

Wide Angle Lenses – How to Use Them

Wide angle lenses can make for powerful images, with a field of view significantly wider than a regular lens or even the human eye. If you have had your camera a while, you have probably considered buying one. But do you really need one? How do they work, and when do you use them? Or maybe you already have one but aren’t happy with your shots?

What is a wide angle lens?

The commonly accepted norm is any lens wider than the human field of vision is a wide-angle. Lenses in the 24mm – 16mm range are considered a wide-angle lens, and less than 16mm is deemed to be ultra-wide. Fisheye lenses are those less than 8mm. The most popular range is 16-35mm.

Canterbury Cathedral at 10mm
Canterbury Cathedral at 10mm
So What’s a “normal” lens?

A standard lens is one that, on a full-frame camera, has a focal length of 35mm or more. This is multiplied by 1.6 for canon and 1.5 for Nikon on a crop sensor. This makes the “normal” lens for a crop sensor 24mm, as this equates to 36mm on a full-frame camera.

When to use a wide angle

Wide angle lenses are used for capturing as much of the scene in front of you as possible. Therefore, they are convenient for interiors in real estate photography. Landscapes, cityscapes, seascapes and architecture are the other main categories that shine. However, as they include so much, you need to be especially mindful of not having distractions or negative space in your image.

interior of leeds castle
Interior of Leeds Castle, UK, taken at 7mm
How to use a wide angle

The most common mistake people make when using wide angles lenses for landscapes is to use them for every big vista or a standard lens. i.e. straight horizontal or vertical. This, however, creates a scene with the horizon across the centre. However, if you angle the lens down, the horizon becomes the top third of the image, and the foreground becomes the star.

wide angle mistake - horizon in middle
Rookie mistake. Taken at 16mm on Canon 16-35mm shooting straight forward, which put the horizon across the centre

It becomes more important to find a foreground subject because your background being pushed further to the back. Otherwise, everything in the frame will be too small to be of interest. So get as close or low as you can to your foreground and have a definite subject, preferably in the midground (to avoid distortion) in the image. My subject was the lake with autumn trees leading the eye in the picture below. I was on a sloping hill and couldn’t get closer to them than about 8ft – but the ‘trees’ in the lower edge of the frame were really only low shrubs though they look like small trees.

bavarian alps and lake apsee
Bavarian Alps, taken at 14mm looking down. Horizon in top third and colourful foreground and leading lines to Lake Alpsee
mountains beside tromso airport
Taken at on zoom lens at 150mm instead of wide angle. At the bottom of the mountain were houses which I wanted to exclude.
Not for every landscape shot

Bear in mind; the wide-angle lens won’t be the right lens for every big vista. A wide-angle will make everything in the scene look further away. Unless you are shooting close to the ground, in which case the foreground becomes much more significant. While you will fit everything in, you need to be mindful that the background will appear further away and smaller. So if you are going for dramatic tall mountains, then the wide-angle may not be the right lens for the shot. However, if you have an interesting foreground leading to an interesting distant element, the image retains its impact.

canterbury cathedral wide angle
Focal length 9mm – Using the distortion to advantage – the corridor really wasn’t this long
drawbacks of wide angle

The two drawbacks of a wide-angle are barrel distortion and lens flare. All wide angles distort the image, especially at the edges of an image, the cheaper ones more than others. You have to be especially mindful of what is in the edges of your images. Anything at the edges will bend inwards and require straightening in your editing. It follows then that you should never have a person on the outer edges of your image. You can minimise distortion by moving further back and zooming in slightly or later in post-processing.

Canterbury UK, notice how buildings on left hand image lean inwards, and RH side, corrected perspective in Photoshop.

Lens flare – you may like it in images – sometimes it helps, sometimes not. Apart from trying to remove in PS or the like – you can get around this by adjusting your angle, using a lens hood or (my favourite method) blocking it with your hand.

wide angle shot of sunset from eiffel tower
Paris from Eiffel Tower at 7mm, lens flare caused by setting sun. I had a hood on but should have also blocked with my hand.

They do take some getting used to, if you have never used a wide-angle before. Like a macro, they aren’t a lens you can just put on and shoot with, which was the mistake I made when I got my first one. I’m not a read the manual kinda girl. You need to understand HOW they work to use them to their best advantage.

Practice makes perfect

When I first bought one, I went out all excited, got some shots, downloaded them at home and was disappointed. The images were uninteresting and had distortion. It then didn’t leave the bag much as I regretted buying it. Shortly before a big overseas trip, I changed camera systems and bought a wide-angle as well as a zoom and walkaround. I knew I wanted to get interiors of churches and views from the Eiffel tower, so a wide-angle was going to be needed. Lots of youtube and practice before I left gave me a basic understanding; though I still made mistakes, these were ones I could correct in post. Having said that, it’s not a huge learning curve – and once you have nutted it out, you will be able to capture more interesting and powerful images.

Autumn Photography – Capturing the Colour

Autumn Photography in Australia is dramatically different for Australian photographers to those living in the northern hemisphere. While photographers in the Northern Hemisphere have Aspens, Japanese Maple, Poplars, Cottonwoods, Ash, Oaks, and Dogwoods at their back door – we have Eucalypt trees. Green/grey all year round. For an Australian photographer, hunting for autumn colour involves a lot more than stepping out into the nearest forest. It requires research to find ‘English’ gardens and often, a good drive in the car. Pre-covid, when air travel was still possible, it could also include a flight to another state or even timing your overseas holiday for autumn.

arrowtown nz
Arrowtown, NZ
Autumn Locations in Victoria

However, within Victoria, we are lucky to have several fantastic gardens of deciduous trees that create a riot of colour in autumn. Except for Tieve Tara and Cloudehill, all are free to enter.

  • Alfred Nicholas Gardens, Mount Dandenong
  • George Tindale Memorial Garden
  • Cloudehill, Dandenong Ranges
  • RJ Hamer Arboretum
  • Bright and Wandilgong
  • Tieve Tara, Mount Macedon
  • Honour Avenue, Mount Macedon
  • Maroondah Reservoir Park
  • Glenlyon, 20 minutes from Daylesford
  • Valley of Liquidambers, Heathcote
When is the best time to shoot?

In Victoria, the leaves usually don’t turn till mid-April. We need 2-3 cold nights before they start to turn en masse. Time of day-wise, hands down, the best shooting time is during golden hour. The hour before sunrise or sunset will have warmer light, enhancing all the leaves’ reds, yellows, and orange. If it’s overcast with no light coming through, you will need to be a bit more creative with the editing process.

fallen leaves
Carpet of leaves – late april, Bright, Victorian High Country
Lenses

While I mainly shoot autumn in a focal range of 24-70mm – pack the macro when you head out – while a macro of leaves is on the cards, it’s not just leaves that may attract your attention. Tramping through trees at Mount Macedon we came across an exoskeleton of a cicada.

cicada
Settings

I like to keep my ISO low – most of the time, I am shooting around ISO 200 – and never above 400. I find it easier to avoid noise in images to start with – rather than fix it in post. To bring the leaves out and have them pop against a blurred background, I usually shoot between F1.4 to F2.8 – only going up to F9 and above if I am shooting a pano. Shutter speed will always depend on available light – but if it’s going to be longer than I can hold, I pop the camera on the tripod.

Backlighting

Photographing the branches and leaves, backlit by the sun, will bring out the detail/veins on the leaves. Go for a Fstop of higher than F16 to get a sunburst.

backlit leaves
Backlit leaves, late afternoon, Warburton, Vic
sunburst through trees
Sunburst through trees, Tieve Tara, Mid afternoon
Use a circular polariser

A circular polariser is an essential addition to your kit for autumn. It will pump up the colour and contrast of the leaves and the blue sky. A bonus is it will remove the shine off the leaves or ground if it’s been wet. If you decide to shoot leaves floating in water – it will also remove the glare off the water.

Orton Effect

The Orton effect is one I sparingly use – but when I do, it’s for autumn landscapes. Basically, it’s a glow added to your images in post-production. Photographer Michael Orton created it, and he used it in his film photography, layering two images on top of each other. One in focus, one brighter, slightly out of focus. When combined, this created an image that was both sharp yet blurry. While it shouldn’t be used on everything – it can make your autumn shots pop.

I have created a free action for you to download if you would like to try it. It will work on both mac and pc – download, unzip and add to photoshop. It is a zipped file, and you will need to unzip it. If you don’t have an unzip program I suggest using Winrar its easy, safe and free. When you have run the action – adjust the opacity of the layer to your liking.

Mount Wilson, Blue Mountains, mid morning with Orton Effect – before and after
White Balance

While most of us shoot with auto WB, with autumn shots, it’s better to use a slightly warmer WB – around 6000 kelvin. If you don’t want to or don’t remember to change your WB before you shoot – you can adjust it in LR or Photoshop during your editing process. Move the temperature slider to a higher kelvin number. The left (blue) will make your image cooler – to the right (yellow) will warm the image. Be careful not to overdo it – if you shoot jpeg, it’s just a tiny amount – if you shoot raw, I have used anywhere up to 7000 kelvin depending on the image.

white balance

Below is a shot of the Laburnum Steps at Breenhold Gardens, Mount Wilson. RAW, and straight out of the camera, it leaves a lot to be desired. I warmed the WB to 7000k and increased the vibrance +50 and saturation +25

Breenhold Gardens, Mt Wilson, mid morning, before and after a WB adjustment
Look for Subject Seperation
le page homestead
Le Page Homestead, Plenty Gorge, early morning

When you are in among the trees, look to separate your subject from the background. Early morning fog or mist is great for this – otherwise, try a low F stop – around F4 or lower to keep your main subject sharp – but a bit of blur to the background.

Contrast is good

Colour is good… great even – but look for contrasting colours to make the leaves stand out. A green shrub in a sea of yellow and orange or dark tree trunks in among the riot of leaves

bavarian forests
Dark tree trunks, Bavaria

Autumn is a great time to be out with a camera. It’s actually my favourite season. The days are a bit shorter – so sunrise and sunset are at a bit more civilised time, and autumn is known to turn on some amazing sunsets. The weather is still pleasant but not as hot, and we haven’t hit the cold of winter or the rain and wind of spring yet. Add natures glorious colours, and what’s not to love?

Bavaria’s Fairytale Castle

Neuschwanstein is a fairytale castle located in Bavaria, a landlocked state of Germany, near the town of Fussen. It was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, also known as the “Fairytale King” or “Mad King Ludwig”.

Bavaria's Fairytale Castle

It is my intention to rebuild the old castle ruin of Hohenschwangau near the Pöllat Gorge in the authentic style of the old German knights’ castles

King Ludwig

King Ludwig greatly admired and supported the world-renowned composer Richard Wagner. As a result, Neuschwanstein Castle was built in his honour. Wagner’s characters also inspired many rooms in the castle’s interior.

Bavaria's Fairytale Castle
The Fairy Tale Castle

Neuschwanstein is a fairy tale castle with its white limestone façade and deep blue turrets. Its name literally means “New Swan Castle,” referencing “the Swan Knight,” one of Wagner’s characters. It is also rumoured to be the real-life inspiration for the castle in the Disney classic Cinderella. Work began on the building in 1868 and was financed by King Ludwig’s personal finances rather than state money.

King Ludwig
Bavaria's Fairytale Castle

Ludwig became king at the age of 19 upon his father’s death. He subsequently created Linderhof castle, which was completed in 1878. However, Ludwig died in mysterious circumstances in 1886 before Neuschwanstein was completed. The ‘iconic’ or best view of Neuschwanstein Castle is from Marys Bridge. Unfortunately, Marys Bridge was closed for renovations at the time of our visit, and I couldn’t get the iconic shot of Bavaria’s Fairytale Castle from Marys Bridge.

Ludwig became a recluse high in his mountain castles. The costly building of elaborate castles drained his finances, and in 1885, foreign banks threatened to seize his property. Finally, in 1886, the government declared him insane and deposed him due to his irrational behaviour. Ludwig was then interned at Berg Palace. The next day, he died in mysterious circumstances in Lake Starnberg, together with the psychiatrist who had certified him as insane.

Linderhof Castle

Linderhof Castle is relatively small and modelled after Versailles, which Ludwig had visited. Ludwig fell in love with both the castle and the power of the French king. However, King Ludwig was a constitutional monarch with no power, unlike King Louis XIV, who had absolute power.

Bavaria's Fairytale Castle
Bavaria's Fairytale Castle

Unfortunately, photography isn’t permitted inside Neuschwanstein or Linderhof. So, if your reason for visiting is to photograph the inside, you may wish to reconsider. I wish I had known before we bought our tickets.

Bavaria's Fairytale Castle
Hohenschwangau castle beside Lake Alpsee
Hohenschwangau Castle

King Ludwig’s father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria, built Hohenschwangau Castle. It was King Ludwig’s childhood home and summer residence. He could see Neuschwanstein being constructed on the opposite mountaintop from his window.

Autumn in the forests is beautiful – trees unlike we get in Australia, and the colours were stunning.

© Bevlea Ross