Beautiful Autumn Light . . .

631 words; 6 photographs; 3-minute read

. . . at least here in /southern Ontario. Not to boast, but we’ve been enjoying 20°C to 28°C days and brilliantly clear blue skies without a cloud in site. What’s not to like?

I’m dedicating this blog post to my dear wife, life partner and best friend. Two months ago, she underwent a hip replacement and this weekend, successfully hiked 10km over our two hikes. I’m amazed, and she is ecstatic. Her recovery is on-going, but getting better everyday. I know how grateful she is to her health care professionals at St. Mike’s and her physiotherapists, but it also comes down to her own determination!

Now for some Autumn Light . . .

I’m of two minds regarding this gorgeous weather. It’s easy to fall into the trap of celebrating—who doesn’t love a warm October day?—but it is also a stark reminder that being 10°C above normal has its costs as well: everywhere is dry; it may be confusing wildlife, birds and insects; and it’s the product of our lifestyle and the carbon we continue to spew into our air.

In other words, enjoy it now, but it’s all connected to the wildfires, the smoke, the shorter ski season, the increased frequency and severity of storms and flooding and droughts. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, right!?

The photos in this post are from the last couple of days out and about. We chose late in the day more for the cooler temps than for the light, but, hey, I’ll take the gorgeous late-day warm, angled light anytime. And when the sunsets and the forest becomes dark, well, that’s what ISO 3200 is for.

I specifically went out with only the M. Zuiko Digital ED 8-25mm ƒ4 PRO zoom (16-50mm efov). I love this lens. It is so versatile. I can get ‘close’ if I need to, but really it’s the premier landscape lens. It’s sharp wide open and is brilliant at ƒ5.6 or even ƒ8.

With the bright autumn light slanting through the forests, I often shot using HDR. Lightroom Desktop (not Mobile!!) has an excellent HDR Blend mode that uses only 2 files: the brightest and the darkest. I typically shoot 3 frames EV2 apart giving me a 2 over and 2 under. But I also shot 3 frames, EV3 apart for 3 over and 3 under. Both worked brilliantly, but +/– EV2 covered the dynamic range well.

You’ll notice that every photo presented here but one, relies on back and side-lighting. Front lighting is, frankly, boring, too ‘tectbook’ with little character. AS I walk along, I’m constantly assessing the interplay of light and details.

When I stop to compose, I’m composing the light as much as I’m composing for leading lines and three-dimensionality of the foreground, mid-ground and background relationships. It’s the light that counts; how it shapes the land, the textures and the colours.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to get out and spend some time enjoying the beauty autumn has in store for us.

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