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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Look for Subject Seperation

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

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?

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