Acadia National Park Fall Foliage Photography

When I visited magical Acadia National Park in Maine for a couple of days of pristine fall foliage photography over Columbus Day weekend, I found the reds and yellows of the trees in peak autumn colors. I remember thinking upon arrival that it would be great to bring home a photograph that somewhat conveys the immense color burst and beauty of Acadia National Park during the famous New England fall foliage season. On the second morning it all fell into place when I was driving to Eagle Lake where I was planning to photograph after sunrise. Half way into the drive, on Route 233, I noticed a small stand of black birch trees with prime red fall foliage in front of a beautiful canopy of yellow leaves. The morning light perfectly illuminated the leaves and was exactly what I had envisioned. I quickly decided to make a u-turn and work the subject. First I moved around with tripod and camera and tried wider compositions. I then realized that a tighter composition would be more beneficial and I settled to cut out the blue sky and only include the complimenting yellow canopy in the back. I kept the reflection of the red leaves to emphasis the surrounding water. At ISO 100 and an aperture setting of f/11, the camera provided me with a shutter speed of 1/10 second. A polarizing filter eliminated any distracting glare in combination with an exposure composition of 2/3 steps boosted colors. In the post processing I minimally adjusted contrast, lighting and color saturation before sharpening the image. So glad I made the u-turn ...

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