FOLIO LINE FOLIO LINE M c C l a t c h y - Tr i b u n e

BY JANET WORNE
McClatchy Newspapers
apturing autumn on film is an art
form — an art form anyone can
enjoy. The novice can buy a dispos-
able camera and go wild in the woods. The
serious photographer could pay huge
amounts for equipment, spend hours print-
ing and create sophisticated landscapes.
The point is, it’s what you have going
on in your head that counts.
With that in mind, here are a few hints
that might help make your fall photograph-
ic excursions fulfilling.

Of course, peak season is your best bet

for great photographs. (Keep in mind that Make use
leaves peak earlier in mountainous areas.) of nature’s patterns
But stay open to off times, too. Even early (right): Color is captured
in the season you might come across one bril- on film as you snap shots
liantly colored tree in a mass of green. Or late of the scenic twists in
in the season, you might come away with a Wisconsin’s Popple River.
wonderful picture of a mass of fallen leaves Zero in (below): A few fallen
with bare tree trunks rising out of them. leaves on a rainy day high-
The time of day is also important. The light the contrast between
best light is early morning or late after- the bright green grass and
noon. In the morning you might encounter the rust and gold leaves.
fog in low-lying areas, which will add to
the mood of your photos. Evening has the
advantage of sunsets, which might add
color to the foliage.

You won’t be satisfied with drive-by

photos. Stop the car, get out and walk
around.
Take a hike through the woods or
around a cemetery. Experience the day, and
you’ll see the fall color from a new per-
spective.

Who says you always have to hold the

camera steady? JANET WORNE/MCT B E T H G AU P E R / M C T
■ Jiggling the camera at a slow shutter
speed might blend the colors with pleasing
results.
■ Using a flash in the daylight might
give the leaves an extra sparkle.
■ Experiment with shooting into the
sun. The colors are sometimes more intense
in backlit leaves, especially with a dark
background. Probably the best results will
come when the sun is streaming in at an
angle from behind so the colors glow and
the edges are rimmed in light.
The point is to experiment. Not all the
pictures will turn out, but you’ll hit on
some happy accidents.
CHARLES H. BORST/MCT DAV I D S T E P H E N S O N / M C T

Don’t just point and shoot.
Try looking up through the branches, try
climbing the tree and looking down, try
lying on the ground. Try anything different,
and you might get surprising results.
Use a close-up lens or close-up filters and
zero in on a tiny portion of a colorful leaf.
Leaves don’t have to be in trees to make
great pictures. Look in puddles on the
black pavement, and you might come away
with some interesting abstract pictures.
Look for a center of interest: A rustic farmhouse Shoot into the sun: Early morning light streams
provides a quaint focus for the colorful fall foliage through the yellow leaves of maple trees at
surrounding this farm near Stowe, Vt. Boonesborough State Park in Madison County, Ky.
Most people incorrectly assume that leaves change because the weather gets cold, says
Tom Kimmerer, a University of Kentucky forestry expert.
What actually happens as trees downsize themselves for the winter is much more complex.
As the season changes, the longer nights and shorter days signal trees to begin
withdrawing nutrients from leaves. As autumn sets in, leaves turn colors and fall from
trees. The chlorophyll that gives leaves their green color (and is necessary for the photo-
synthesis that converts sunlight into plant food) begins to break down.

Make use of nature’s patterns and ■ Spring/summer: Leaves use energy from sun- The process that stops chlorophyll production also
abstract designs. light to combine water and carbon dioxide into glucose, makes a tree drop its leaves.
Find a center of interest. Maybe you which the tree uses for energy and growth. Chlorophyll,
could focus on one barren, gnarled tree rising a green-colored chemical, makes it happen.
■ Late summer: As days get shorter and nights get
1 Branch
2 Branch
out of a sea of low-growing colorful shrubs. Separation Separation
Perhaps a barn in the foreground or a boat colder, there is not enough sunlight for photosynthesis. layer layer
floating on a pond is your center of interest. Energy production slows and chlorophyll production in
Remember that less is more. You don’t the leaves stops.
have to include everything in each picture. ■ Early autumn: As the chlorophyll fades, other pig-
The important thing is to go with your ments begin to show through. They are always present but
instincts. If the picture makes you feel End of
are hidden during summer by chlorophyll’s green color. leaf’s
Cells
good, you must be doing something right. stem Cells swell
As the green fades, carotenoids that have been there At the end of each leaf stem is In the fall, the cells of
all along begin to show through with yellows. a separation layer of cells. the separation layer
Species of trees turn different colors in the fall Small tubes pass through this swell and cut off these
Do you have a theme or statement you because they have different chemicals that become vis-
want to make with your picture? Is there layer, carrying water to the leaf tubes.
ible as their green chlorophyll fades. and glucose back to the tree.
something about the process of changing
■ Brown: Produced by Tannin, one of the leaf’s
leaves that could be a metaphor for the
waste products. Branch Branch
cycle of life?
Perhaps a single leaf dangling from a ■ Red and purple: Produced by anthocyanins, 3 Separation
4
barren branch symbolizes isolation or lone- which aren’t present in all leaves. In some, they are layer
liness. manufactured when cells break down in the leaves and
There is no limit to the possibilities. sunlight reacts with glucose (sugars).
Make it as ponderous or frivolous as you ■ Yellow: Produced by xanthophyll, a pigment. End of
like. They’re your pictures. ■ Orange: Produced by carotene, a pigment. Cells leaf’s
Orange is often made by a combination of the factors disintegrate stem
Janet Worne is a freelance photographer and
former staff photographer for the Lexington that produce yellows and reds.
As the layer forms a seal The weakened leaf
(Ky.) Herald-Leader. ■ Fiery red and bronze: Produced by antho- between the leaf and the tree, falls from or is blown
S O U R C E S : W W W. H E R A L D L E A D E R P H OTO. C O M / S TA F F -
cyanins combined with carotene. cells in the top of the separa- from the tree.
P O RT F O L I O S / J W G A L L E RY / J W. H T M L , W W W. J A N E T-
W O R N E . C O M / B I O G R A P H Y PAG E . H T M L
Because reds are more dependent on sunlight, tion layer disintegrate.
Kimmerer said, leaves on trees such as maples often
S O U R C E S : M C G R AW H I L L C O N C I S E E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F S C I E N C E A N D
are yellow on bottom branches and red on top. T E C H N O L O G Y, S I M P LY S C I E N C E , T H E P L A N T D O C TO R

A N DY M E A D A N D T I M B A R K E R / M C T

FALL PHOTO TIPS — ORIGINALLY POSTED SEP. 2002

MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE