blue and gold

Bright leaves against the sky is sort of my M.O. when it comes to autumn foliage snaps.  What can I say?  This picture, as saturated as it is (and this is unedited), doesn't do the real thing justice.  There's nothing like standing beneath a golden ginkgo and peering up at the shreds of the bluest blue.

What I like best about this photo:  the thin outline of the leaves where the light catches the edges.  Such an exquisite, paper-thin detail.

What I don't like: the fact that I can't think of any original ways to photograph my favorite tree in its autumnal glory. 

rock and recline

A lawnie had left his chair in the middle of the lawn, so I commandeered it for a few quick shots, fully intending to return it after five minutes or so.  But you know how it goes--you shoot, you check, it all looks okay, you zoom in, you realize nothing is in focus and your background is extremely distracting.  So I moved the chair around to various positions, tried shooting on my stomach, moved the leaves that I didn't want in the photo out of the way (anal), until--the poor resident asked me if I was done with his chair.  Oops.

If I'd had more time I think I would have taken it further up the lawn--those big, dark tree trunks in the background aren't as blurry as I'd like, so the dark of the chair doesn't pop nearly as much as I wanted it to.  I do like the colors though; easy golden hour shooting and no tweaking needs to be done.

Partly Cloudy

Late afternoon sun on the Rotunda.  Taken with a friend's Canon Rebel this past weekend.

Things I like: Dappled light, black and blue palette.

Things I don't:  That little edge of tree branch in the lower left corner--could have cropped it out, but then the balance was off.