The PhotoNaturalist

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!

I just happened to stumble on this Bald Eagle perched in an aspen while driving around northern Minnesota. My car served as a blind and I was able to get a few shots out the window. Remember to stick your lens as far out the window as possible to avoid the shimmer of heat from your car escaping to the cool fall air.

Sandhill Cranes congregate at Wisconsin’s Crex Meadows in late fall. The rusty red oaks compliment the red crowns of the Sandhill Cranes.

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.

A shallow depth-of-field turned the leaves in the background to pleasing blobs of color.

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.

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.

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.

Panning with the Mallard at a slow shutter speed made for an interesting image.

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.