Posts in Category: fall

Batson River autumn panorama

This is one of the upper pools on the Batson River at Emmon’s Preserve in Kennebunkport, Maine, USA. Nothing spectacular but an interesting place for a panorama with the fall foliage. iPhone SE with the Sirui 18mm ultra-wide lens, held in portrait position and swept from left to right through only a portion of its 360 degree reach. Smart HDR was on in the Apple Camera app, but I have no idea if it works with sweep panorama. Processed in Apple Photos.

Looking into Autumn

Looking into Autumn, and into the sun, down another long alley of marsh, this time just over the hill from the Kennebunk town line on Rt. 9. I really like the perspective of the Sirui 18mm ultra-wide for this kind of of shot, especially since it is wide both ways…vertically as well as horizontally. It gives the scene a very natural look. At least to my eye. The high contrast light picks out every detail, and the Apple Camera app’s Smart HDR renders the range of light effectively, producing another memorable image of fall. Or that is what I think. Processed in Apple Photos.

Best of autumn in Kennebunk

Of course, this time of year, I have my eye out for great autumn shots…places where the color is at its best and well displayed. I was in the passenger seat of our car (a rare position for me to be) when we crossed the marsh at the edge of Kennebunk Lower Village, in leaf-peeper traffic at its best (or worst), and glimpsed this scene out the widow as we passed. It was overcast with a dull grey sky, so I could let the scene pass, but I would remember. I immediately began to plot how to get there safely on Indigenous People/Columbus Day Monday, when better skies were predicted, on my eTrike, without getting myself run over by a leaf peeper. By 11am the next morning the sky was promising and I got the trike out and took my chances…going the long way around to approach from the right side of the road, and avoid as much traffic as I could…as well as the stretch of horrible trike road on Rt. 9 coming into Lower Village. When I got there I found that there was enough of a shoulder on the bridge over the marsh so I could safely park my trike for the photos. I took many views of this with slightly different compositions, and picked this one as the best of the non-panoramic set. I might post the panorama another day. Anyway. This is a classic southern Maine autumn landscape. iPhone SE with Sirui 18mm ultra-wide lens. Apple Camera app with Smart HDR engaged. Processed in Apple Photos.

Flag of fall…

Just above eye-level in forest along the stream above Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains, where the trees are slowly turning in our frostless fall, this small shoot on the trunk of a large maple, caught by the sun behind it, appears as the flag of the fall that is still coming…the banner of autumn. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Apple Photos. ISO 160 @ f4 @ 1/500th.

Fall coming on nicely!

We had our first sunny day…or at least a few sunny hours, yesterday and I got out on my eTrike for photoprowl, to see how fall is coming along. It has been kind of stuttering after an early start. No worries. At least in the likely spots it is coming along fine. 🙂 This is one of two little ponds right next to Rt. 9 between Brown Street and the Wells Town line. I photograph it in all seasons, but fall is certainly the most striking. I got down just about at ground level with my iPhone and the Sirui 18mm ultra-wide lens. The sky was bright but the foreground was in cloud shadow already. Really an attractive combination that does well with the fall color. Apple Camera app with Smart HDR engaged. Processed in Apple Photos.

Another pond of autumn…

I went out looking for a little more fall to fill my photo buffer the other day…fall seems to be still bashful here in Southern Maine…just peaking out here and there, generally near water where the cold air settles over night. This is the upper end of Day Brook Pond, often a spot for early color, but even so, not as much color as I expected the first days of October. We expect peak color by Columbus Day. We might not make it this year. 🙂 iPhone SE with Sirui 18mm ultra-wide lens. Apple Camera app with Smart HDR engaged. Processed in Apple Photos.

Starting Fall early…

This is the other little pond along Rt. 9 between Brown Street and the Wells town line. This one is right on the road. I have photos of it in all seasons, but fall is by far the most colorful. This pond is so exposed, and the water’s so cold, that you have to watch it closely. The leaves here are done turning and off the trees when the leaves further inland are just thinking about color. iPhone SE with Sirui 18mm ultrawide lens. Apple Camera app with Smart HDR engaged. Processed in Apple Photos.

Titmouse in the November shade…

Tufted Titmouse: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — If the November sun is a different kind of light, the November shade is a different kind of shade. All summer photography under the pines were one set of feeders are was difficulty because of the abundance of vegetation and the depth of the shade. Now, as the leaves are mostly fallen, and the light is coming in more obliquely, and from across the yard as opposed to behind the house, the open shade under the pines is becoming slightly more photographically assessable. This Tufted Titmouse only sat for a second, as is their habit, but long enough for a couple of frames. The light brings out the subtle hues of the bird’s plumage. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 1000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.

Leaves in the stream

We were up in the 70s on Saturday…a real Indian Summer. I did a bit of research on the term “Indian Summer”…to see how much cultural baggage it might carry…but its origins are hazy at best, and it seems never to have had a negative connotation. It…a warm dry spell in October or November…is called different things in different cultures. It is “old woman’s summer” in German speaking countries, “poor man’s summer” in slavic countries, “gypsy summer” in the Balkans, “little summer” in South America (where it happens in May), and “little autumn of the geese” in Gaelic. Many people name it for one of the Saints whose Saint Day falls in late fall…though the particular Saint varies by region. At any rate, I don’t feel too guilty calling it Indian Summer. To celebrate I got my ebike out and took a ride. I was arrested by this scene as I crossed the bridge over the Merriland River in Wells on my way to Laudholm Farms. Sony Rx10iv at about 135mm equivalent. Program mode with auto HDR. Nominal exposure: ISO 640 @ f4 @ 1/320th. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

Rapids in Fall

This is along the Mousam River in Kennebunk Maine, at Roger’s Pond Park. Slipping on into the very end of fall. Sony Rx10iv at 24mm equivalent. Program mode with HDR. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. Nominal exposure: ISO 100 @ f2.8 @ 1/250th.