Capturing Swirling Autumn Leaves
One of the great things about photographing autumn colors is that there is so much to shoot within one season. From sweeping landscapes to intimate macro shots, there’s a lot to explore as a photographer! Among the possibilities, and a personal favorite actually, is capturing leaves floating in the water, especially when they’re spiraling around in a pool. If you’ve ever wondered how to capture this kind of scene in all its autumnal glory, read...
Swirling Unasawa Autumn – Lightroom Only
Last week I headed with my photography buddy Anthony Wood to the Unasawa Valley in Okutama, on the outskirts of Tokyo. It was a great hike and we hit the area at a near perfect time for autumn colors. This was one of the last photos I took on our hike, at the Unasawa Great Falls. While the waterfall doesn’t look so “great” in this picture, that’s because you’re only seeing the very bottom of...
Hyakuhiro Waterfall In Okutama Japan
Some time ago I came across a photo of the Hyakuhiro Waterfall in Okutama, and ever since I wanted to take a visit. The name Hyakuhiro means “100 hiros,” with a hiro being an old Japanese unit of measurement. While the waterfall isn’t exactly 100 hiros tall, which would be over 4 times its actual height, it is 40 meters tall (~130 feet), making it one of the largest waterfalls near Tokyo. I was finally...
Ditching The Landscape In Landscape Photography
There’s a popular song from my high school days by Sister Hazel in which they sing “if you want to be somebody else, change your mind.” While this certainly applies to the much more important area of personal improvement, it also applies to photographic improvement. Although in our case the lyrics might be something more like “change your view.” Changing how you see a scene can make a big difference in your landscape photography, and...
Faux Autumn In The White Mountains
Generally when I’m photographing something I prefer to keep my image at least reasonably close to what I saw in person. For example, I don’t like to mix the sky from one location and time to the mountains of a completely different location and time. I don’t even like to manipulate colors too heavily – I might enhance them, but completely changing them isn’t how I normally operate. However, there are situations where you need...