trees

Autumnal Forest with Fern

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Autumnal forests are among my favorite photography topics. Colorful leaves and foggy weather provide lot of opportunities, unlike the summer with dull colors and intensive daylight. On the other hand, it is often cold, wet and a bit too dark. And do not forget the CPL filter, it is a true game changer for wet foliage.

Despite this compositions might look quite simple, getting such conditions is a different story. The Beech leaves have the right yellow colors only few days before they turn brown. And of course dense fog is not available every day.

Early Autumnal Forest

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The cultivated spruce forests are not a great place for landscape photos. And especially not in the middle of sunny day, when its really hard to get some decent composition. I was lucky this time, when the backlit dry grass provided a nice contrast. I was quite limited by the focal length and lot of disturbing elements, but the result is pretty ok.

It is a handheld shot, other approach might be tripod and use a focus stack to achieve bigger DOF. I’m not sure if that will be better, but I had no tripod to test it.

Dwarf Birch (Betula nana)

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The tiny shrubs of Dwarf Birch (Betula nana) are quite typical in tundra and Arctic regions, some are still growing as glacial relicts much more to the south in higher elevations. It looks like minuscule Birch without the typical white bark. The lovely feature is very bright color of leaves in the early autumn, when they turn bright yellow and bright red.

Following photos were shot in various places in Norway during the hikes. The vivid colors of autumnal Dwarf Birch provide nice contrast in the rainy Scandinavian landscapes, which could otherwise be quite dull. I especially like the colors in the combination with pale lichens. The presence of red colored autumnal Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) is even better, but these photos were made too early in the August.

Wet rainy trail across the Norwegian tundra in Rondane national park, Scandinavia
Wet rainy trail across the Norwegian tundra in Rondane national park, Norway. Almost all the bush around the trail is the Dwarf Birch.
Colorful red foliage of autumnal Dwarf Birch (Betula nana)
Colorful red foliage of autumnal Dwarf Birch (Betula nana)
Bright colored leaves of Dwarf Birch (Betula nana)
Bright colors of autumnal Dwarf Birch and pale lichens provide nice contrast

Rainy Forest

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I discovered a nice rocky area hidden in the mixed forest recently. The rugged landscape, mossy boulders, various trees and in some places also lovely ferns provide a lot of opportunities.

It did not take too long until some August rain and fog. The fog was not dense enough for my plans, but still I managed to try couple promising shots. This foggy forest with big boulder in the foreground was best in my opinion.

This place is quite close to my house, so I will definitely explore this area a bit more.