The Start of the Fall Colors on Lake Waukewan
This was my first fall in New Hampshire and I was searching for beautifully colored foliage everywhere I went. Nearly every chance I got I was out on the lake, the mild weather made for perfect days out on the boat or just enjoying the sound of the water at the beach. While my uncle fished I photographed, and we both enjoyed the quite of a nearly empty lake.
These images showcase the power of the nifty fifty yet, and it’s versatility with a variety of subjects. I shot at 1.8 to put the foreground and background out of focus, putting all the attention on the subject. The aperture meant that the scene was greatly overexposed even at 100 iso, so I compensated with the shutter speed.
If I had been shooting using auto exposure the camera would have closed down the aperture as well as increasing the shutter speed, which wouldn’t have delivered the desired effect. The power of shooting in manual can’t be overstated, it allowed me to get the exposure exactly where I wanted it without sacrificing the look I was going for. Using a mirrorless camera also greatly helped as I was able to see the exposure live through the electronic viewfinder.
The light across the face is what really makes this picture and it only works because of the exact conditions of this moment, the reflection off the dash of the boat filled in the shadows of his face creating a contrasty image without losing detail.
