The trees are starting to turn here in northeastern PA and September is half gone. It is Autumn, my favorite time of year, and what I consider to be the best season for outdoor/nature photography. And because of that, there’s a whole list of things I want to accomplish:

* Ricketts Glen State Park, PA – All of my previous visits to Ricketts have been during the summer with a photo club. But autumn is really the season to be there – I’ve seen photos of the gorge and waterfalls with the foliage, and I want to make some of my own images like that. The trick is getting a good overcast day; this may seem like an unusual hope, but it fits the location. Shooting in the gorge on a sunny day is hard – the dynamic range is far more than the camera can handle, with deep dark shadows and blasted sun spots all in the same scene. And without neutral density filters, forget trying to slow the shutterspeed and blur the water. An overcast day, however, evens out the light. Coupled with a polarizer, the foliage color will really pop amid the earth tones of the rocks and water.

Ricketts Glen State Park

* Ithaca, NY – I’ve traveled to Ithaca many times, in all seasons. It is one of my favorite places to go on a day trip; there are a lot of options all within a close distance. The game plan looks like this: get there in time for breakfast at the Ithaca Bakery {http://www.collegetownbagels.com/pages/home/home.php], which has AMAZING goodies. Then off to Robert Tremen State Park for a hike down to Lucifer Falls and back (this is my favorite of Ithaca’s parks).

Lucifer Falls @ Robert Tremen State Park

Then a stop at Tuchannock Falls State Park, where the falls are lovely, but my real focus is the riverbed; when the water is low, it’s possible to forego the trail and hike up the bedrock riverbed itself, which is very cool. Then it’s off to the wine country between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. There are some lovely vineyards there, most with cafes/shops, so there’s the promise of a nice lunch. Lodi Point State Park is on the list of places to stop. Lodi Point is a tiny park, but the stone beach is nice, and last time I visited, it was full of sea glass – glass bottle shards worn smooth by the wave action against the stones.

* Raptor Migration - Council Cup Scenic Overlook sits on the east shore of the Susquehanna River south of Wilkes-Barre, and is said to be a great spot from which to view the autumn raptor migration. I’ve never seen a raptor migration before, but my understanding is that if conditions and timing are right, you can see a <i>lot</i> of raptors. This is definitely a long-lens adventure – although as adventures go, I expect it will be more stationary than usual.

* Salt Springs State Park - off all the places I’ve visited, this modest little park is the one I return to with the most joy. Salt Springs looks unassuming; from the website along, you might not even bother with it. The first time I visited, I barely spent any time at all. Later, I realized that there is far more to it than initially meets the eye. I’ll save a full review for a later date, but in terms of my autumn checklist, I want to be there, on the main field, for sunrise. I’ve yet to miss an autumn sunrise there since I started visiting several years back, and from the main field – situated atop a hill and frequently mown for hay – the view is spectacular.

Autumn Dawn @ Salt Springs State Park

I also want to spend some time hiking in the high fields, which are sparsely visited. Hopefully I’ll get there while the grass is still tall; I want some daytime long exposures of the grass in motion. And I’m thinking that an overcast day might be best for this as well – get that cold autumn feeling, with the blazing foliage and the wind in the grass.

* Outdoor Portraits - I’ve got a couple of friends who might be willing models, and I seem to be hung up on the whole gloomy day thing. Partly that’s because a gloomy autumn day, with that coolness the light gets, mixed with the warm foliage, looks really neat. And part of it may just be that I’m tired of trying to fight pure daylight when using strobes outside. Either way, I’d like to get a model or two out in a field/woods and do some portraits. (I’m also giving serious thought to a Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens, which would be awesome in a situation like this.)

Outdoor Portraits

I’m thinking something along these lines, but instead of the warm summer light, aiming for moody autumn light.