Fiery Maple, Canaan Valley State Park, West Virginia

This image i by far my favorite from my recent trip to photograph the fall colors in West Virginia. It was shot on the very first morning of my photo workshop that took place from October 7 -10th. I awakened early that morning at 4:30am plagued by bad dreams that I can’t seem to recall. Probably went something like the light being atrocious for the next several days topped off by leaf ripping winds and zombie flesh eating clients. I joke of course, or do I? Whatever it was, it certainly was no evil premonition of the days to come. I had an amazing group of photographers, all very nice, talented and enthusiastic. And it certainly was not a negative omen of the conditions of light and foliage to come over the workshop.

Rolling out of bed after what seemed an eternity of laying in restless dreams, I made an emergency batch of strong coffee. Boiling the water on the front porch of the hotel room and then adding it to my french press loaded with some serious strong coffee bought at Hypnocoffee in Davis the day before. As I sipped the black caffeinated concoction on the porch of the lodge, I took in the starlight and low hanging fog creeping across Canaan Valley eerily illuminated by the waxing moon light coming down like a search light from a UFO. At this point I knew that this morning was going to be a good morning indeed. Low hanging fog and clear skies is a perfect recipe for dramatic atmospherics. Mix in a little fall color and a stately old maple and you’ve got a recipe for success that Rachel Ray herself couldn’t whip up in 30 minutes or less.

Fiery Maple, Canaan Valley State Park, West Virginia

After many cups of hypnotic coffee, I met the group in front of the lodge at 6am. We briefly discussed the logistics of the morning and then saddled up and where on our way over to Canaan Valley State Park. Eying the conditions of the fog as I drove I noticed it getting stronger as we approached the park. This particular meadow is a favorite of mine. I like the old growth maples surrounded by wild untamed meadow grass. As the sun rose, we watched it first paint the fog in tones of purple and pink. Before long the sun was over the crest of the Allegheny front and splashing the meadow and fog in warm early morning light. The sweet light! I choose this composition because of three reasons. First and foremost, the fog. As it danced across the meadow it lifted up into the trees presenting itself in a most elegant manner against the bulk of the stately old maple. Second, I was drawn to the repetition of the number three, the maple and the two conifer trees to it’s left. And finally the third reason for the image,  the light. It was warm and sculpting, giving character to the shape and texture of the fog, forest and meadow. I used my 70-200mm to isolate the maple against the background forest. The fog helped soften the scene allowing only the most important detail and color to come through in the image. A single exposure was all that was necessary to capture the full tonal range and color. It was optimized in Adobe Camera Raw, and final touches to tone, color and saturation were applied in Adobe CS5. I added an Orton layer at 25% opacity to give the image a soft glow that I felt suited and enhanced the mysterious natural setting and light that morning.

Advertisement