It’s December and you know what that means – it is sorta like fall here for a couple of weeks. Anyway, I went to the lake to shoot wildlife but they have had the park open for deer hunting during the week and all the deer were either hiding or in someone’s freezer. So, I focused on some fall color instead and yes golden long grass and the red head of a turkey vulture counts as fall color.

Walking back to the truck to grab my tripod, I crossed over a creek and found the sun shining through some golden leaves. I got out the wide angle to shoot it then worked on getting a sunstar as well. To do this you have to tighten up the aperture and try to get just a narrow bit of sunlight through the leaves. The photo below was shot with an aperture of f/16 and I had to take several dozen photos while moving back and forth with the leaves blowing in the breeze. Eventually I got what I wanted.

The reason I got my tripod was to shoot long exposures of the lake during golden hour to get the trees on the opposite shore from the sun reflected in the water. I can only do this with my really wide lens or my really long lens because I have never bothered to get an ND filter for my mid-range lens. So, if you’re still Christmas shopping for me, the filter thread size is 67mm.
With the wide lens, the trees and reflections appear far in the distance, but maybe the rocks just below the lake surface are interesting.

Below is the photo with the longer lens (100mm). This let me focus in on the tree trunks reflected in the water. I really should get an ND for my mid-range zoom.

Well, that’s what passes for fall color in vulture country.

The landscapes are lovely, especially the light, but I have to say my favorite among these photos is the last one, showing the vulture. Its enjoyment of the warmth seems palpable.
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He was disappointed in me for being alive
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Too bad for him, but good for you!
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After you have an ND filter the trick is to use it. I loved the fact my OM-1’s have built in ND and GND. The trick is to use it 🥹.
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I love shooting with the ND to smear clouds and smooth water. I always seem to be missing the filter that I need though.
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I really need to go try all the ND tricks included in the new gear. I had a plan to use them when I went to West Va. shooting the deep river gorge…but never got there 🥹.
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Probably don’t want to use ND on gators and birds
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Very nice, Jason. The colors give that feeling of warmth and I agree with shoreacres, the last pic is sweet. And ya know, after switching a couple systems of camera gear and thinking I needed a polarizer for all my lenses, I ended up up just getting 2 of them. A 77mm for my “ biggest” lenses and then using step down rings to fit the medium smaller lenses as the filter still does what it needs to do, and then a 62mm filter to cover the smaller lenses. Way cheaper. 😊😉😎 Merry Christmas. ⛄️❄️🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻
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Beautiful shots. The second-to-last is my favorite. I like the golden glow.
My rule of thumb, out in this desert, as that it is fall color if it looks different from winter, spring, or summer.
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Sounds like you’ll fall for anything.
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Perhaps, but I’ll leave it there.
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At least in the desert you don’t have to do a lot of leaf raking.
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No, you don’t. Unless your father-in-law planted lots of *$%@! trees at the house your wife inherited.
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I guess that leaves you holding the bag.
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Yes, relatively speaking.
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Groan!
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You deserve it.
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Pfffft! 😇
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Maybe that’s what happened with our previous owners. We couldn’t believe that they had lived here so long and not one single tree. Found out they had them all removed, and they were big trees, according to the neighbors. Maybe the in-laws had planted them. 😄
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I can understand it, trees are a lot of work. I’d remove ours, if my wife would let me. Fortunately, one had to be cut down, due to its roots damaging our house’s foundation, one died from a worm infestation, and another was blown down by Hurricane Hillary. But we still have about a dozen more to go. I can only hope and pray for more arboreal misfortunes and disasters.
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Have you thought about adopting some beavers? 🦫
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That’s a dam good idea.
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Aww, poor Tippy!
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😢
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I may have laughed at a couple of these.
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My work here is complete
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🤦♀️!
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Beautiful shots of “Fall!” May be feeling a tad envious of your weather right now.
I love the sun peeking through in your 2nd shot, but your next to last shot is my favorite. Love the reflection in the water.
Hopefully, Santa reads your post and gets you the right filter for your camera.
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His sleigh will be filled with peppermint bark, I think
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As long as he makes sure to save some peppermint bark for the sleigh that is coming here!
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