Autumn Landscapes Page 3

Frost can add a new dimension to both landscapes and detail shots, so keep an eye on the weather forecast to be prepared. Arranging some leaves into an interesting composition on your lawn the night before an expected frost will give you a ready-made still life the next morning.

Close-ups and still life
Just because it’s autumn and you want to be out shooting dynamic landscapes, it would be very easy to overlook what might be available in your back garden or the local park. You might not have thought about being a still-life photographer either but there are opportunities for some striking images right on your doorstep.

Forget the wideangle lens for the moment and take a closer look at the autumn colours around you. Go for a ‘micro landscape’ by isolating a small patch of colour with a medium or long telephoto lens. You don’t have to shoot a whole tree; perhaps look at an individual leaf with a macro lens or use a close-up ring to get that little bit closer.

For a classic autumn image, set up a small still life of leaves on your lawn in the evening before a frost is forecast and shoot it the following morning with the leaves etched in ice. A tripod, close-focusing lens and a reflector (or even just a couple of pieces of white card) are all you need and you can be as creative as you like. Try not to touch them once they are frosted, though, or you will destroy the delicate ice patterns. Once you start thinking in terms of shooting close-ups and micro landscapes you’ll find that the back garden will have limitless possibilities with the bare minimum of kit.

Take a few leaves home with you to make interesting compositions like this on the kitchen table

USEFUL GEAR

Standard Lens
For general shots my Nikon 35-70mm f2.8 is a superb midrange zoom with the added benefit of a close-up facility ideal for shooting those little still-life shots on the lawn or close-ups of frosted berries hanging in the hedgerows.

DSLR
You can use a compact but obviously you’ll get better results from a DSLR. I use a Nikon D2x. It’s tough, rugged, handles well and produces excellent files.

Macro lens
A dedicated macro lens is useful for extreme close-up work, such as individual leaves, bugs and stuff. My Nikon 105mm f2.5 macro is also a short telephoto, which lets me step back for a more comfortable working distance from the subject.

Cable release
I use a Nikon MC30 electronic cable release to release the shutter without touching the camera, for sharper pictures. You could also use a remote release (pictured).

Wideangle lens
A wideangle lens is essential for those autumn landscape shots. You may find that the 18mm end of your standard zoom is wide enough but if not you could look at a superwide zoom. My Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 is useful for dramatic, wide landscape views.

Telephoto lens
For those nice long shots where you want to pull the image
in and isolate sections of a scene you’ll need a telephoto zoom. I use the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8.

The fruits of harvest time make for an interesting still life.

Filters
I never go anywhere without the following filters:
• A set of Lee ND grads for exposure control.
• A set of Lee ND standards, for increasing the exposure to introduce blur or movement in water or wind blown leaves.
• A Lee circular polariser to help saturate colour and get rid of reflections from shiny leaves.

Reflectors

To bounce light back into the shadows of close-ups or still-lifes (white card is ok), I use a Lastolite folding reflector.

Plus...

*A Pen knife

*An OS map of the area

*A carrier bag for collecting leaves to place in the foreground

*A pair of secateurs for a bit of judicious pruning

*Waterproofs

*A flask of coffee and a bar of chocolate!

*Small waterproof picnic rug