Indian summer in detail

In North America, the term Indian Summer refers to hot autumn days after the first frost, a sort of reversal of the weather. This is the time when the trees take on the intense hues of orange and red. Even here in the Netherlands, landscape photographers are often inspired by the majestic displays of color.

It can also be fun to collect a variety of different leaves, and photograph the rich details. Take a nature walk and look for the leaves of the American Oak, and countless other trees, as they show off colors and patterns of amazing diversity.

Back home, stick the leaves to a piece of cork-board or something similar, and photograph, from a tripod, the most striking patterns and compositions. Searching for the best shots is easiest if you use your camera’s live-view (on the LCD screen). Lay your cork-board on the table and make sure your camera is perfectly straight and square above it. In live-view, you can zoom in for critical manual focus, then zoom back out to see the entire composition.

Now you can go exploring for interesting details simply by sliding the cork-board back and forth under the camera. A whole new world will open up for you as you view the autumn leaves as you’ve never seen them before.

The examples shown here were photographed outside in full shade, with a small aperture, a low ISO, and a slow shutter speed.