Regular followers will know that most years I share the joy of Autumn here and this year is no exception…. I’m told that Autumn is late this year and many trees are hanging on to their summer foliage. This may mean that colours will change and leaves drop very quickly, especially if we get windy weather at the same time. It’s a wonderful time for photography if you keep your eyes peeled.
Sizergh Castle Gardens Visit
Somewhere that is always nice to visit but especially so in Autumn, is Sizergh Castle near Kendal.
Sizergh Caste and the lake.
The grounds are well worth exploring on a nice day and with your camera, there is no better a place to start than the lake. If there is a nice sky and it’s not breezy, you get lovely reflections, especially from the far side.
The rustic gardens are well known for shrubs and small trees, especially the delightful Japanese Maples.
Autumn leaves.
When you are out and about with your camera at this time of year, don’t just admire the leaves on the trees. Under your feet you will often find a carpet of colourful leaves. The Japanese Maples have beautiful leaves in terms of shape and colour.
Colour on the trees.
Not for wanting to repeat previous photography tips, set your camera to ‘portrait’ mode or adjust the aperture to it’s widest setting (eg f4), if we’re getting technical and you have a DSLR. This will allow you to blur the background and make your chosen leaf or leaves stand out from the background. Without which you are likely to loose the drama of the colour and shapes in a busy mish-mash.
Colour at Sizergh.
Me in action!
Late flowering plants.
Don’t forget that there are plenty of late flowering plants to snap too. One of my particular favourites for late summer into autumn are fuchsias. They are especially photogenic, as close-up they look so delicate and colourful. And of course the colours vary from white to pale pink and deep red and purples.
Dainty fuchsia flowers.
As part of my visit to Sizergh recently I went on a bit of a hike. There are several very pleasant marked walks from the car park. There is always time for a bit of nonsense and when I found this hollow tree trunk with a hole in it, I couldn’t resist! Who wood, excuse the pun?!
Always time for fun with the camera!
Having left Sizergh and back in Lancaster, I noticed the abundance of horse chestnuts from the many trees in Ryelands Park. Have you ever looked closely at one though? They are very tactile but also are often beautifully marked.
Beautiful horse chestnut.
In fact if you have a macro lens and good lighting (and a conker fresh out of it’s prickly casing) you may see wood grain that looks more like it’s Aunt Edith’s well-polished antique mahogany dining room table!
Conker close-up.
Lovely, isn’t it? Having never noticed before, I conclude that conkers are beautiful objects, at least they are for a while before drying out and shrivelling up, or being attached to a length of string and smashed!
To wrap up this little feature on autumn colours, I spotted I never knew I wanted a blueberry bush. When visiting the local garden centre, I just loved the colour the leaves turn at this time of year!
Happy snapping!
