The fall season is now upon us. It’s hard to believe that summer is over for another year. It seems like just yesterday I was getting ready for all the spring arrivals. Those spring arrivals are mostly gone by this time of year. It’s been almost two weeks since I saw a hummingbird. I don’t feel sad about the upcoming fall season, but excited for the fact that there will be many opportunities for those great fall nature shots.
Besides the great colors of fall, the remaining birds and various other critters will become much more active, getting ready for the upcoming winter months. This increased activity in the nature world makes for some exciting and beautiful images.
In the fall I will generally carry a couple of lenses with me on my forages into the wilds. This would be a large zoom, usually my 100-400. This lens is a good all-around telephoto with a wide range of the 100mm through the 400mm. The smaller lens I usually carry is my 18-55 wide angle. This, of course gives me a close-up of 18mm to the wider 55mm. This is a great lens for those fall scenic colorful shots. The lenses I have described are all Canon, but every lens and camera maker have very similar lenses. Let’s not forget our cell phone cameras. These are almost always good quality image makers, but unfortunately most cell phone pictures never make it to someone’s wall, but remain in limbo deep inside that ever present mobile device.
As I write this, the fall colors have not yet shown themselves. What I have read is that this fall might not be a good color year. Since the fall colors, or lack of, have been progressing very slowly, the only things any photographer can do is wait and see.
In the meantime all is not lost. I have seen a heavy movement of deer already this early fall, with some impressive bucks in the mix. Now the only thing I, or any nature photographer need, is a great pose of a beautiful whitetail buck, with brilliant fall colors in the background. Too much to ask you say! Not in our area, with the huge apple crop this fall the chances of coming across a nice deer portrait might be right around the bend, literally! Deer and beautiful scenic shots aren’t the only picture worthy images out there in the fall. Fox are very active, red and gray alike, plus bear, coyotes, turkeys and if you’re lucky, maybe a bobcat or fisher. Remember that in our area, nature also prepares for the long winter, making your chances of getting an excellent image very possible.
Just like hunting, photographers have to be in the right place at the right time. Also like hunting, photographers have to do a bit of scouting. If you spot a nice buck, or other critter worth photographing, scout the area to see if you can find a travel route, or water source. Most wild animals are creatures of habit, and will generally follow the same routes daily. I’m not saying go out and sit every day, but do scout out different spots as much as possible. Your next visit to a watering hole just might mean that shot of a lifetime.
For an easier and fun shooting experience, try your own backyard. Some of my best wild bird shots have come out my kitchen window. My secret is very simple, and very easy for some great wild bird shots. Find a window or an open porch where you can put some feeders nearby. By nearby I mean close to or under a bush or small tree. This will provide songbirds with some protection from roaming hawks or owls. Have a variety of food from sunflower seeds to suet that will attract a mix of songbirds from woodpeckers to cardinals. Yes, there might be that hawk that will show up at feeders, but think about it, they make excellent pictures. Hopefully this will be a mild fall season, so get out those cameras, take a walk, or patiently wait by your feeder, for that perfect shot to come along. Good luck! Until my next adventure …
Questions or wildlife sightings – rocky.holland1@verizon.net
