Photography In The Fall

Autumn is a beautiful time of year. The leaves turn crimson and gold, the haze of summer's humidity is gone leaving the air clear and cleaner looking, and even the weeds are beautiful, as the goldenrod can testify to. Fall is naturally a time to want to get out there and take some pictures. And there are some of the pretties pictures to be had waiting to be taken this time of year, too. Like this, for example:

That is Example Number One that weeds are even pretty this time of year.

So being that it's fall, I was inspired to take pictures of the chicklets, because it's what I do. Here's what I learned. Or rather, had reiterated to me. The sun is not the same in fall as it is in the summer. Shocking, I know. But egads, the shadows. Horribly, no good, really bad shadows. I took a lot of photos without lighting compensation, and the results are not pretty.  See:

We like to call that picture The Photobombing Frenchie. Silly Jack.

I knew the sun was not at a good position when I went out to take the pictures, and yet I did it anyway. Mostly because I like to torture the kids. After actually working with the lighting, I chose to get creative in my technique rather than make adjustments to my equipment. Lazy much?

Focus on the foreground, so you don't notice the background as much. That always distracts the naysayers.

But the day wasn't a total bust. While not the best from a photographer's standpoint, I did get this gem:

The rare kiss from Micah. Caught forever in digital imagery. Awesome.