Photo Checklist for the Sights of Fall

The time is here for capturing all those beautiful colors of autumn. The upper elevations in the Smoky Mountains are starting to sing. Before you start your trek to photograph the leaves and landscapes here is a quck checklist to make sure you are ready for all the shots.

Plenty of Media

Memory cards or film. Maybe even both if you wish. It’s a terrible feeling finding the perfect spot to photograph and realize your memory card is full or you are out of film.

Polarizer Filter

The polarizer is the handiest filter to have and it is also the most misunderstood. The filter will reduced glare on shiny, non-metallic objects. Because the glare is removed colors appear truer and brighter. Additionally photographs with a blue sky can be enhanced the polarizing effect of the filter.

Tripod

A tripod will hold the camera steady when you are shooting a slow shutter speed or using long lenses. Even in bright daylight there is a place for a tripod. Slowing the shutter speed down and choosing a smaller aperture will increase you depth of field, rendering more of your scene in sharp focus.

Too often the tripod is left at home. There are lightweight carbon fiber tripods that are easy on the back. My favorite to have around is the Gorillapod. I’ve got two. One in my faithful nineteen year old Dodge D50 and one in my Domke. The legs are not as long a conventional tripod, but it allows me to affix trees, stop signs, roof of the truck or anything else the legs can be wrapped around.

Batteries

You can never have too many batteries when you are alway take great photos. It is a good time to check on the life of your rechargeable batteries, the holidays are coming sooner than you know it. If your camera is not lasting as long as it once did on a charge it’s time to replace it.

Hot Shoe Flash

The light will be long and contrasty that will have deciding do you expose for the highlights or shadows. Take your flash with you and use it to light the areas in the shadows. That way you will not be explaining what that is in the dark spots of photographs.

Ziplock® Bags

This is the WTF item, but it makes perfect sense. Keep a few gallon sized Ziplock® bags in your camera bag or at least one in your pocket. Pop-up showers are big part of the fall just like the apples at Carver’s Orchard and candy corn. The rain will find you when you least expect it, the apples and candy corn won’t. This way you can keep your camera dry until the shower has passed.