“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting
and autumn a mosaic of them all.” -Stanley Horowitz

Somewhere I read that North America’s deciduous forests offer the planet’s most spectacular show of seasonal color. Indeed I’ve traveled around the world, lived in different countries, and I’ve never seen something as magnificent as this.

I never get tired of observing how the trees change colors before our eyes or going out with my camera and registering those bright yellows, oranges, and reds. Believe it or not this is something I spend the whole year looking forward to see.

But this wonder of nature might be threatened by climate changes. According to an article in the 09 Sept/Oct edition of the Audubon Magazine, rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are causing the leaves to turn later and later, something that actually I’ve noticed. And although the high levels of CO2 might bring more intense

colors, it will also bring global warming; changing forever the geographical distribution of these glorious species or even worse help them disappear.

Getting the Best of your Photographic Experience

Many times people go out with their cameras trying to get pictures of this artwork of nature and get disappointed with the results. That happens because there is a lot of interference from rays, reflections and haze that is not detected by the human eye but is definitively registered on the picture. So here are a couple of tips that should help improve the results:

• Use a polarizing filter to maximize the colors of leafs. Shiny highlights mask the true pigmentation of the vegetation. A polarizing filter will also help to get richer blue skies.
• Use your in-camera histogram to help ensure all data is centered on the range. If you are dealing with very contrasted situations, a neutral density filter should help bring the contrast down.

• Plan for the best light! The ideal time for capturing leafs without sky is usually on a cloudy day during mid-morning. On a sunny day, you’ll prefer to go out early morning, or late afternoon.

Have a great photo safari!