Serendipity from the Skies

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the ease of encountering the unexpected when piloting a drone, Flying to or from an intended target, or just exploring a location, it seems one often happens upon something surprising, For example, while photographing fall foliage at a pond in Vermont, I decided to take the scenic route back to my landing zone, Flying while using the map, I pointed the camera straight down to see what lay beneath and was surprised to discover this incredible island of brightly colored deciduous trees surrounded by the deeper greens of some conifers. I fired off a few frames, refined the view and shot some more. When I got back home, I realized my intended target of the pond was outshone by my surprise shot. It was a good reminder for anytime I'm out in the field, to keep alive to the unexpected. Sometimes, the best shot is the most unexpected one,

Falling Waters, Falling Leaves

I love the scene at Knife Shop Falls, but I'm not wild about the way the falls seem to flow out of the frame from this vantage point. I tried to make that work by creating a counterpoint of the leaves swirling in the eddy just below the small second drop. A 15-second exposure provided the motion effect I wanted, but I had to throw in a few extra leaves to add more weight and substance. That exposure proved too much for the main falls, so I shot them at a faster shutter speed and blended it in; the lower drop, at center left, I shot at a longer shutter speed as it needed more exposure and more oomph in the flow. I wanted to add a little more action to the image, so, after resetting my ISO, shutter speed and aperture, I threw some leaves into the air, and fired off a few frames as they fluttered down. I did that maybe a half dozen times. I wound up selecting three of those frames and blended in a few leaves from each to create the final composition. To make the shot more cohesive, I used a color range mask in Camera Raw to make all the leaves roughly the same color. Finally, some Orton effect and some added glow created the dreamy quality I sought for the image.

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