Vivid

The vivid reds, oranges and yellows of autumn color are my favorite time of the year to photograph.  I usually try to plan travel in the fall to see some of the great color displays of maples or aspens in October.  Then when November gets here I start to think more local as that is when our fall color season kicks in.

This year I have really put an emphasis on getting out as much as I can in search of finding local fall color.  Most people who live here would say there is not any.  A few photographers might say it is too short or things are just brown.  They are both very wrong.  We have a very nice and long fall color season.  

We also have some very vivid colors-you just have to pay attention and know where to look.

Most of our trees go yellow, but we do have native red oaks that can go very crimson.  Find red oaks and you find fall color.  There are several parks that I know of where there are red oaks and I have been frequenting them a lot over the last few weeks.  

Luckily the two best parks are also more natural areas where the trees grow on hillsides and in valleys.  That also helps from a photography standpoint since that lets me frame a shot where I can just show the trees in a natural setting.  Of course, I also try some close ups of individual trees too.

Here are some of the highlights from the last week.  The colors are probably peaking and there is some great fall color in the area.  I'll still be going out as the late changers will keep going almost to Christmas.  
The scene will slowly change to more and more bare trees and fewer and fewer with color until we enter our brief winter right after solstice.

Until then, I keep chasing the vivid reds and oranges of autumn.