Shades of Autumn: Favorites 11.27.11

I have LOVED participating in the Shades of Autumn Challenge. I have always loved fall, but I have a much deeper appreciation of the varied shades and the fading nature of the time of year. There is no other time so fleeting yet so vibrant. Here are my favorites from the past few weeks.

Green: I did not participate in this week initially but here is a green shot from the beginning of fall.
Settings: ISO 200, 55mm, ss1/30, f/5.6 (full manual)

Yellow: A pumpkin patch and fruit stand provided an array of yellow hues.

Settings: ISO 200, 55mm, ss1/320, f/5.6 (full manual)

Orange: A visit to a state park and a small town filled my memory card with orange. 

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm ss1/125, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm ss1/500, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Red: Raindrops and red make for a beautiful combination.

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/80, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Purple: My favorite color and fun to find in a local small town.

Settings: ISO 100, 43mm, ss1/320, f/5.0 (full manual, sunlight wb)

Brown: At first I assumed this color would be dreary and dull, but it is anything but. 

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/160, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 800, 55mm, ss1/100, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

White: Snow in my old college town across the mountains was peaceful and a beautiful beginning to winter. 

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/50, f/9.0 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 53mm, ss1/250, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Linking up with the Shades of Autumn Challenge. Check out the other favorite photos!

Shades of Autumn: White 11.20.11

Throughout the Shades of Autumn Challenge, my goal has been to really capture what autumn means to me...the changes in the trees and leaves and the vibrant colors that make the landscape in the Evergreen State look different for a while. I feel like I have been successful and have experienced autumn in such a deeper way this year. When it came to this week's color - white - I decided to keep with my interpretation of the challenge and capture white in a way they represented the transition from autumn to winter. And what better way to do that than with snow! While we don't have snow where I live, just across the mountains in Eastern Washington snow has arrived. My mom, who loves snow, accompanied me. We went to Ellensburg where I went to college and recalled fond memories while finding the snow. It was a great day trip and I was able to take some photos that showcase winter white. For processing I did minor editing of basic settings in Lightroom and the products are below. Which one is your favorite? Thank you for visiting!

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/50, f/10 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/125, f/6.3 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/50, f/9.0 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 53mm, ss1/160, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 53mm, ss1/250, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?" - J.B. Priestley

Linking up with the Shades of Autumn Challenge. Check out the other white photos!

Shades of Autumn: Brown 11.12.11

Initially I felt uninspired by the color brown for the Shades of Autumn Challenge. However, when I headed out to some nearby parks I found the beauty in the different shades of brown and the contrast with the other autumn colors. Despite the rain and wind I found some lovely examples of brown and was impressed by how many hues of brown there were. I am sharing a few of my favorite shots. They are SOOC as I felt they captured the essence of the rainy day, which complimented the brown tones. The first 3 were taken at Soaring Eagle Park, which is full of trails frequented by mountain bikers and the last one is taken on dry riverbed in Tolt MacDonald Park.

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/160, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 800, 55mm, ss1/60, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/125, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 800, 55mm, ss1/100, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

One take on the meaning of the color brown - "Brown says stability, reliability, and approachability. It is the color of our earth and is associated with all things natural or organic." 


Linking up with the Shades of Autumn Challenge. Check out the other brown photos!

Shades of Autumn: Purple 11.06.11

Purple. The color for Shades of Autumn and my favorite color. I love that purple can be strong and regal. That it can be soft and light. I had a difficult time finding purple leaves to capture despite my strong desire to capture them. The dilemma lay in the fact that the trees that produce purple leaves do not grow wild around here and thus have to be planted. After a wonderful day watching the sun rise and taking a trip to Mount Rainier, we found a small park in Buckley on the way home with a street that was lined with trees with purple leaves. As I walked along getting my shots I noticed two other photographers having portrait sessions. The surroundings were perfect with many varied settings and the weather was beautiful with areas of direct sun, filtered sun, shade and the brilliant blue of the sky. It was the perfect fall day of shooting.

My goal was to capture the amazing deep purple of the leaves contrasted with various other colors. I took a lot of shots and had a hard time narrowing down my favorites. As with all of my photos I planned on editing them. Upon opening them in Lightroom though they were such a close match to they way I saw each shot. Therefore, these are SOOC. I hope you don't mind :o). I love the power of editing, but I also find such a sense of accomplishment in taking pictures that just don't need editing to match what I see. What do you think?

Settings: ISO 100, 40mm, ss1/200, f/5.0 (full manual, sunlight wb)

Settings: ISO 100, 55mm, ss1/320, f/5.6 (full manual, sunlight wb)

Settings: ISO 100, 55mm, ss1/25, f/5.6 (full manual)

Settings: ISO 100, 55mm, ss1/25, f/5.6 (full manual)

Settings: ISO 100, 43mm, ss1/320, f/5.0 (full manual, sunlight wb)

Settings: ISO 100, 55mm, ss1/320, f/5.6 (full manual, sunlight wb)

"But, luckily, he kept his wits and his Purple crayon." - Crockett Johnson

Linking up with the Shades of Autumn Challenge. Check out the other purple shots!

Shades of Autumn: Red 10.30.11

After a weekend on the Oregon Coast, I spent a little time Sunday capturing red for the Shades of Autumn Challenge. It was rainy and windy, which created some interesting conditions. Luckily I had my mom along to hold an umbrella for me :o). I also had a headache which made everything seem brighter than it was. When I opened the photos in Lightroom they did seem a bit bright but not as bright as when I took them. I got a few good shots, but I was disappointed. Many of the trees I had scouted earlier in the week had dropped most of the true red leaves, leaving more orange than red. I was reminded of the fleeting nature of fall. In the end I am happy with the results and the rain added some visual interest to the leaves. My favorites are the ones of the ground. What do you think? Do you feel fall is going by too quickly? Thank you for stopping by!

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/125, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)
Post Processing: Red and green hue/saturation shift, basic setting adjusted in Lightroom

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/80, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Post Processing: Black clipping adjusted and vignette in Lightroom

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/200, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)
Post Processing: Cropped, basic settings adjusted and vignette in Lightroom

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/80, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)
Post Processing: Basic settings adjusted in Lightroom

"Change is a measure of time and, in the autumn, time seems speeded up. What was is not and never again will be; what is is change." - Edwin Teale


Linking up with the Shades of Autumn Challenge. Check out the other red shots!

Shades of Autumn: Orange 10.22.11

Today I spent the day admiring the fall colors. I was able to drive myself around and spend some time with my best friend as I finally got a new car. The colors were beautiful and the range of shades had me captivated. My goal was to of course capture the Shades of Autumn color of orange, but also to communicate the essence of fall. The changing colors and changing of the landscape are what makes fall such a breathtaking season. The variety of oranges that I had the privilege to see was astonishing. It was a great day of shooting!


Settings: ISO 400, 55mm ss1/125, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb) 
Taken at Flaming Geyser State Park
Post Processing: Basic settings and vignette in Lightroom

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm ss1/160, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb) 

Taken at Flaming Geyser State Park

Post Processing: None - SOOC

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm ss1/500, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb) 

Taken in Enumclaw

Post Processing: None - SOOC

Settings: ISO 400, 28mm ss1/200, f/6.8 (full manual) 

Taken at the local Fred Meyer

Post Processing: Crop and spot removal in Lightroom

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree." - Emily Bronte

Linking up with the Shades of Autumn Challenge. Check out the other orange shots!

Good to Wow Edit: Pumpkins 10.15.11

The time has come to edit my pumpkin pictures for the Good to Wow Challenge. This week I used white balance settings other than auto to capture my SOOC shots. I was very impressed with how they turned out and when I went to edit them there wasn't a clear need for editing. I wanted to try split toning as Ashley had suggested on her post, but I just didn't have the right kind of highlights and shadows. So I decided to keep the shots SOOC and make a collage. I have been wanting to give one a try for a while and I thought this was the perfect time.

To do so, I went to Click it Up a Notch and found an old post where Courtney links to free Photoshop and Lightroom collage templates. I decided to use Lightroom for this as my trial for Photoshop is quickly approaching its end and I already have the full version of Lightroom. The link Courtney provides is to a great assortment of templates and an easy to follow tutorial of how to use them - it can be found here. I followed the tutorial, added my SOOC pumpkin shots (with the exception of one as it just did not fit so I used a shot I did for Shades of Autumn), added a quote to the empty box in Photoshop and ta-da! A collage was created. I like the simplicity of it for my first attempt and I love seeing all of the shots together. I would love to add borders around each image in the collage. Is that possible in Lightroom? Regardless, I am proud of how this turned out. I think it is fun and a great capture of this time of year.

I would love to hear your thoughts. How do you do collages? Do you know how to add borders? Any freebies to share :o)? Thank you for stopping by!

Linking up with Good to Wow: Edit. Check out the amazing before and afters! 

Shades of Autumn: Yellow 10.15.11

I love Saturdays! Lately I have been spending them photographing and trying out techniques I learn during the week. On a great Saturday of shooting I get in two "sessions." This Saturday was a great Saturday! I spent the morning at a roadside stand and pumpkin patch photographing pumpkins for the Good to Wow Challenge. I then spent the evening at the Tmobile Building in Factoria capturing one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen that is not at the beach. These pictures will be shared throughout the week.

During my great Saturday of shooting I also found quite a few examples of the color of the week for the Shades of Autumn Challenge - yellow. I didn't have too much trouble finding the color yellow. I was very excited when I saw the results of my shooting as I played around a bit with white balance after reading a post by Courtney at Click it Up a Notch and the article she referenced. While I was not ready to go with Kelvin White Balance fully, I did choose a setting other than auto to match the conditions. Most of these were photographed using the Cloudy White Balance setting. They were edited with Adobe Lightroom 3 with just minor adjustments to basic settings and some yellow hue shift to really make the yellow pop. I would love to know what you think!

Settings: ISO 200, 55mm, ss1/200, f/5.6 (full manual)
Taken at Frager Farm Stand and Pumpkin Patch in Kent, WA

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/100, f/6.3 (full manual)
Taken at Old Fishing Hole in Kent, WA

Settings: ISO 800, 55mm, ss1/40, f/4.0 (full manual on a tripod)
Taken at the Tmobile Building in Factoria

Settings: ISO 200, 55mm, ss1/320, f/5.6 (full manual)
Taken at the Frager Farm Stand in Kent, WA

"I know the lands are lit, with all the autumn blaze of Goldenrod." - Helen Hunt Jackson

Linking up with the Shades of Autumn Challenge. Check out the other yellow shots!