I had an idea setting out this week, that I would take nothing but black and white photos for a week, thus teaching myself to better see the type of images that best work in black and white. Ha! Perhaps I should not have chosen the MOST COLOURFUL week of the year to do that? Not only did I not take a week of black and white photos, I failed to take a single black and white image. Oh well, there’s always the deep dark heart of winter for that, right?
Because damn, it was a colourful week! Is it just me or are the fall colours both earlier and more vivid than usual? I was wondering if the drought this summer wouldn’t somehow lead to a lesser fall display but it seems to be just the opposite. See?
I took that one with my new favourite iPhone app, Pro HDR. I’ve tried to take a few actual HDR photos and I never like how they turn out. (HDR stands for high dynamic range, and the proper technique is to take several shots of the same scene and then blend them together so you can get the detail of the shadow parts of the image while preserving the colour in the brightest part of the photo. It’s frequently done badly and makes your images have weird glows and odd colours if you overcook them.) I like the results with the Pro HDR app, though, which takes two images and blends them together for you. I find the results quite natural looking.
The blending of the two images can have unintended results. I was trying to take a picture of a lovely sunset the other day with the Pro HDR app from the side of the road when a car inconveniently drove through just as the second shutter click was going off. I was a little annoyed until I saw the final result — the car was actually perfectly placed in the double exposure to give it this cool ghost-car effect. Happy fluke!
The Byward Market is pretty colourful right about now, too! (I know, I know, I take at a couple of sets like this every year. I can’t help myself. The colours are as delicious as the veggies!!)
I am fascinated by rural mailboxes and I find myself always on the lookout for interesting ones. I loved the fall vine climbing up this one!
Remember this summer when I rented a wide-angle lens for a week? I loved the results and have been coveting one of my own ever since. Through another happy fluke, one became available to me for a very affordable price this week, and since I’m going to need a wide angle lens to properly take in the world’s! largest! cruiseship! in a few weeks, it seemed like the Universe wanted me to have it. Expect to see a lot more ultra-wide angle shots in the next little while.
My late-blooming sunflower continues to thrive. I figure if she has the tenacity to bloom in October, the least I can do is make pretty pictures of her!
And last but definitely not least… this week we also managed a quick trip to a new (for us) apple orchard, Osgoode’s Log Cabin Orchard. It was late on Saturday afternoon before we got organized enough to go, and the light was a little flat for pictures. (Yes, a trip to the orchard is 60% about the photos and 40% about the apples for me.) The boys had dressed themselves and were not in what I’d consider photo friendly outfits. I’d pretty much decided this trip would be pretty much all about the apples and the adventure. And yet, the pictures were lovely. Different than previous apple picking adventures, but really lovely in their own way. See?
I’ve got a lot to be thankful for, and I’m wishing the same bounty of love and beautiful colours for your family’s Thanksgiving weekend!
What lens, Dani??
I am in favour of the black and white thing – but just can’t do it! Not this month, as you say! Great photos!
Thanks Jenn! Okay, I will give the B&W week a try once all the leaves have fallen and the world is already a little monochromatic.
Amy, it’s a Sigma 10-20mm ultrawide zoom. Had a blast with it out hiking in the woods – makes those tall trees seem super-tall! I love it!!
I love the ghost car.
This time of year has some of the best photos. Oh, how I love fall.