Fall is in the Air - A Review of 2020 Fall Favorites

 

Fall 2020

Fall is my favorite time of year.  I love the chilly nights, the cool and crisp days, and the wonderful array of colors in nature.  Fall is the time for apples and carmels, sausage and sauerkraut, colorful mums, and fall festivals.  Fall is also the time for candy corn, Halloween, jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin pie and of course Thanksgiving.  

Fall is also a wonderful time for photography.  The sun is not quite as intense and therefore the lighting is better for daytime photographs.  I love to wander in neighborhood parks and on trails and I always bring along my camera.  On this page I will review with you some of my favorite things from the fall of 2020.

Parks and Sculptures

This year in my town of , O'Fallon Missouri, we have ten sculptures on loan and displayed around town in various parks.  On my first fall outing, I visited three of our parks to photograph the sculptures.  It was late September and a little early for full fall color in Missouri, but I was pleased to catch a glimpse of color as I took my photos.

     Westoff Park

In this park I photographed a sculpture called Zig  Zag Zugguret by Michael Quintero.  I was also able to capture some pretty colors on the hillside.

     Dames Park

In Dames Park I photographed my favorite sculpture Solitude of the Journey by Jeremy Colbert.  I felt that whole photograph had a fall feel to it from the beautiful fall grasses surrounding the sculpture to the expressive clouds in the fall sky.

     Civic Park

My last stop on this outing was to photograph Blue Rail by David Lobel.  It was an interesting sculpture and I also photographed some of the colorful purple mums that were nearby.

Fall  Foods

In the fall I seem to have a renewed interest in cooking and baking.  I love baking apple muffins and pumpkin bread.  I especially like making anything with apples.  I made an apple cake last week and apple pie is always a favorite with my husband.  One of my favorite apple delights is homemade applesauce.  I love the smell of apples cooking on the stove.  My recipe is quite simple.  I just peel, core and cut the apples in chunks and then add them to a pot and cover them about 2/3 of the way with water.  I add some cinnamon and put them on the stove to simmer.  It only takes about 15-20 minutes and they are so good.  Can't you just smell them cooking in the photo below?

Another favorite is microwave apple crisp.  It is delicious and so easy to make.  See the recipe on the Zazzle magnet below.

Apple Crisp Recipe Magnet
by mbgphoto

Fall Decorations

I love to decorate my home for fall.  I usually put up my decorations in the first week of September and take them down after Thanksgiving.  My decorations are fairly simple, just a few colorful leaves and some pumpkins that I purchased at the local craft store.   The two special items that I have are the mini quilt on the entrance table that a friend made for me and the photograph on the mantle.  It is a photo that I took of a lighthouse in Minnesota during the fall and I was able to capture the fall leaves in the framing of the photo.  I had it printed on canvas and it sits on my mantle in the fall.  Here are a few photos of my decorations.

Front Door Wreath

Fall Zazzle Products from my Photographs

Happy Fall Coffee Mug
by mbgphoto

Autumn Reflections Poster
by mbgphoto

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Visit Missouri-Explore St. Louis Review of Fall Photography in Forest Park

Fall is my favorite season of the year.  I love to photograph the beautiful colors of the season. On this page I will review Forest Park in St. Louis through my Fall photography.

When will Fall Colors Peak

It is always difficult to predict when colors will be at their peak and this year was no different.  All October I waited and watched for the colors to change.  Oh there were glimpses of color here and there but not the outstanding colors that you think of when Autumn arrives.  I read that you don't get the really good colors until after the first hard freeze.  Well last week we got temperatures down in the 20's several nights so I knew it was time.  On November 1st I headed to Forest Park with my husband and some friends and was delighted with the amazing display of colors.  The day was clear and crisp and great for capturing the beauty of Fall.

A Favorite Venue for Fall Photography

Forest Park in St. Louis is a venue I have written about before, it is one of my favorite places to visit.  Here is a link to more information on Forest Park from one of my previous posts. Forest Park and Jewel Box.  In this post I will highlight fall colors around the History Museum, the Art Museum and the Bandstand area by the Muny.

Art Hill and the Art Museum

Our first stop in Forest Park was at the base of Art Hill.  This hill extends down from the Art Museum and in the winter it is a favorite place for kids of all ages to sleigh ride down the hill.  On this beautiful fall day it was the perfect place to capture a photo of the Art Museum and the bright red trees that were on either side.

This photo was taken when the sun was high in the sky so the glare takes out the details of the building.  We decided to head to the History Museum and continue my photography later in the day when the sun was lower in the sky.  Here are two photos taken a couple of hours later.  The first is a statue of St.  Louis which overlooks Art Hill and the scene of the 1904 World's Fair.

I took the next photo from the parking lot of the Art Museum, looking down on Art Hill.

Muny Area

The next area that I photographed is the area in front of St. Louis's outdoor theatre, commonly called The Muny.  This area has a bandstand on a little island.  The bandstand was built in 1924 to replace the original wood bandstand built in 1876.  This used to be a popular place for musical entertainment in the summer months.  The trees surrounding the water were a brilliant red color and I was able to capture some beautiful photos. 

History Museum

My original purpose to go to Forest Park was to take in the display of Pulitzer Prize winning photographs that were on display at the History Museum.  This was a wonderful display and we spent a couple of hours enjoying the photos.  We had planned to go on a Wednesday but had to cancel.  I am so glad we changed it to Friday because first of all Wednesday was a very rainy day and secondly Friday was the perfect day to photograph the changing fall landscape.  The photos below are of the museum and one of my cousins leaving the History Museum.

The Camera I used for this Outing

One of my favorite camera's is my Sony A6300 mirrorless camera.  I wrote about it in the following post. Sony a6300.  I used a wide angle zoom lems with 16mm to 50 mm. 

   
                                                     

Zazzle Card from my Photos

 

Bandstand Forest Park
by mbgphoto

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Reviewing Fall Photo Fun at a Farm

I recently accompanied a group I volunteer as a photography mentor  to a farm for our October outing.  I was expecting the usual opportunities for photos with the pumpkins and corn maze, but was delighted to discover lots of other photo opportunities.  So when you visit a farm in the fall look past the obvious and you will discover a rich array of photo opportunities.

Old Farm Equipment

Old Farm equipment can make some interesting photos.  Tips for good photos.

• Watch you surroundings so that you can focus on the item you are photographing.  There can be a lot of distractions.
• Move around to get the best angle.
• Pay attention to the lighting.

I thought this old farm truck made an interesting photo.  There were a lot of distractions that would take away from the photo so I zoomed in on just the front of the truck.

Farm Animals

Don't feel you always need to get the full animal.  This donkey sticking his head through a fence tells a story.  He seems to be saying "Pet me...Pet me!"

Make sure you capture the eyes of the animal you are photographing.  It will make you photograph much more interesting.

Weathered Wood

Old barn doors and weathered wood can make an interesting photo.

I like the fall wreath against the weathered board.

 Zooming in close on an old weathered barn door can make an interesting photo.

Corn Maze

Of course the corn maze is always a fun activity.  Taking a photo inside the maze is not always the most interesting.  Here are two different views that I found interesting. 

Here I used a 5.6 aperture to get the foreground in focus and blurring the background.

In this next photo I zoomed in close to capture a single ear of corn.

Happy Fall Coffee Mug
by mbgphoto

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Review of Worldwide Photo Walk

Worldwide Photo Walk

 Saturday, October 7 was the Scott Kelby World Wide Photo Walk.  This walk sponsored by Kelby One had over 21 thousand participants on 985 walks throughout the world.  As I looked at the map I noted that just over half of the participants were in North America and the rest of the walks were scattered throughout the world.  The stated purpose of the walk is for photographers to go out on a walk, shoot photographs and have fun with other photographers.

The walk will have a contest at the end where everyone is asked to submit one photo from the walk.  The photo at the top of the page is my submission.

Supporting Charity

The participants of the walk are encouraged to donate to The Springs of Hope, a Kenya orphanage.  The organization feeds, houses, educates and empowers young orphans.

View of Barge going down Missouri River

Walk in St. Charles Missouri

The walk that I participated in took place in the historic downtown and the riverfront area of St. Charles.  A group of us (about 15) met at 8:45 Saturday morning at the old train depot on the riverfront.  We were given a bit of guidance from the leader of the walk and then we all gathered for a group photo.
After the group photo we broke into smaller groups and began our walk. The group I was in walked down the riverfront for about a half a mile, talking, laughing and stopping to photograph interesting sites.  

After a while we turned up from the river for a stop at a farmer's market.

Next we followed the itinerary for the walk and walked a block up from the river to historic Main street in St. Charles.

Main Street is a delightful area with cobblestones streets and lots of wonderful old buildings that are turned in to shops and restaurants.  It can get quite busy on a weekend afternoon, but since we were there in the morning the crowds were slim and we were able to get some good shots.  The next photos are the sidewalks and shops along Main Street.

Changing Decor for the Seasons

It is early fall when we are taking our walk and the shop owners have decorated for the season.

Taking a Rest

Our walk lasted just over 2 hours.  Here are a few of the group stopping for a rest on some bundles of hay.  After the walk several of the participants stopped at a local restaurant to enjoy some good food and discuss photography.  It was a fun morning that I enjoyed thoroughly.

Photography Books

I enjoy reading photography books to get ideas from other photographers and to hone my photography skills.  I have found Scott Kelby's digital photography books to be very helpful.  Here is a book he now has with the best of the other books.

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