Fall color can really make your wildlife images pop…But how do you incorporate colorful fall foliage into animal pics? It takes a bit of creative thinking because when most of us are out shooting, we are either focused on landscapes (and fall foliage) or concentrating on getting great wildlife portraits…but rarely are we thinking of combining both!
COLORFUL LEAVES AS BACKGROUND
This sounds simple but how often do you find a subject in a spot where colorful leaves create a nice backdrop? Not often! But when you do, take advantage of the situation and shoot like crazy!
A juvenile Northern Goshawk swoops across a backdrop of yellow aspens atop Duluth, Minnesota’s Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve. I attracted it with the use of a plastic Great Horned Owl.
![While calling for Moose, we inadvertently attracted the attention of this curious weasel [October; Superior National Forest, Cook County, MInnesota]](https://i0.wp.com/thephotonaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/sparky-stensaas-weasel-cook-co-mn-777_7712.jpg?resize=570%2C568&ssl=1)
While calling for Moose, we inadvertantly attracted the attention of this curious weasel [October; Superior National Forest, Cook County, MInnesota]
![A near-adult Bald Eagle moves south over a northern Minnesota forest [September; Hawk Ridge, Duluth, Minnesota]](https://i0.wp.com/thephotonaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/bald-eagle-hawk-ridge-duluth-mn-img_003792.jpg?resize=570%2C365&ssl=1)
A near-adult Bald Eagle moves south over a northern Minnesota forest [September; Hawk Ridge, Duluth, Minnesota]
Tamaracks reach peak color in mid October. Their yellow needles will soon drop, but for now, they glow. Northern Hawk Owl in the Sax-Zim Bog of northern Minnesota.
Young Mule Deer buck and aspen leaves. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
REFLECT ON THIS
This may actually be the easiest way to incorporate fall colors into your wildlife shots. Find a small pond, river edge, or lake margin that is lined with colorful trees. The leaves will reflect on the surface of the water if you position yourself at the right angle.
Warm yellow leaves reflect off the surface of a Galesburg, Illinois pond. A low angle and perfect evening light make for a great Canada Goose portrait. The open-billed expression adds to the photo.
Rock Pond on the University of Minnesota Duluth campus is ringed by beautiful Sugar Maples whose red leaves make amazing reflections.
![A pair of migrating Canada Geese float in a pond reflecting fall colors [September; Rock Pond, Duluth, Minnesota]](https://i0.wp.com/thephotonaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/canada-geese-fallcolors-rockpond.jpg?resize=570%2C380&ssl=1)
A pair of migrating Canada Geese float in a pond reflecting fall colors [September; Rock Pond, Duluth, Minnesota]
FRAME WITH LEAVES
It is often a tricky proposition to find a subject that you can frame with leaves, but if you do, it certainly makes a compelling image.
![Though sometimes called "antelope," Pronghorns are not related to them [September; Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming]](https://i0.wp.com/thephotonaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/pronghorn-framed-by-yellow-aspne-leaves-yellowstone-wy-287_8778.jpg?resize=570%2C380&ssl=1)
Though sometimes called “antelope,” Pronghorns are not related to them [September; Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming]
MOTION BLURS WITH FALL COLOR
Get real creative and try some slow shutter speeds with your wildlife subjects and fall color.
Snow Geese take off from a roosting pond in New Mexico’s Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Cottonwood leaves create the yellow backdrop.
FOG FOR BUCOLIC FALL SCENES
Fog and mist can soften fall colors and create moody fall photos.
Fog on Carlton County, Minnesota’s Spring Lake softens the scene, turning it into a watercolor-like photo.
3 responses to “Awesomize your Autumn Wildlife Shots with Fall Color”
Mike Powell
October 13th, 2015 at 03:34
You make it sound so easy. As I scrolled through your posting, I was impressed and inspired by all the different ways that you incorporated the gorgeous fall foliage into your shots. I’ll try to keep some of them in mind in the coming weeks–we are behind your northern location here in Virginia in terms of the changing of the foliage colors. By the way, I love your created word “awesomize.”
Sue
October 14th, 2015 at 11:28
Ditto what Mike said. Getting in position to get the shot is 90%.
Joanne Stensaas
October 14th, 2015 at 12:42
Thanks for a glimpse of autumn leaves and color. It is my favorite season. Aunt Joanne