Almost all photographers like to think of color when photographing a subject. We sometimes choose wild flower subjects because of their distinct color. Of course, what would a sunrise or sunset be without the magnificent colors the will commonly occur during this time of day? I really enjoy photographing the prairies that we have here in Minnesota as what draws me to them is the variety of color that I have to work with.

Of course living in Minnesota , a photographer could not think of color without thinking of our fabulous colorful falls that we have here. The fall season in Minnesota can actually begin in late August or early September. The colors will begin to change at the tip of the Arrowhead region at around this time. As September progresses into October the colors begin to move to the southern part of the state. Generally around the 20^th to the 25^th of October the bright fall colors are pretty much gone.

One of my favorite places to photograph fall color is along the North Shore of Lake Superior. My favorite time to be in this area is around the 25^th of September to about October 5^th. This is generally the peak time for the leaves from Grand Marias to Two Harbors. The hardwoods such as Maple should be peaking and the yellow leaves of birch and aspen will just be starting. Just driving on highway 61 between these two towns there are many state parks and wayside areas to photograph the colors along with scenes of Lake Superior . Some of my favorite areas are Split Rock Lighthouse State Park , Gooseberry River State Park , Tettagouche State Park , Tempererance River State Park , and of course a photographer should always climb to the top of Oberg Mountain and photograph the colorful maples. With the exception of Oberg Mountain where I prefer a sunny day with puffy white clouds, my favorite weather to photograph fall color is an overcast day and even a nice misty rain. This type of weather will enhance the colors and allow for some great images. If I was still shooting film, I commonly used an 81A or 81B warming filter, but now that I am shooting digital my white balance is set to cloudy.

However, some great color is also found inland from Lake Superior . There are many roads that go inland from highway 61.  Caribou Trail, Gunflint trail are roads that head inland to many smaller lakes and colorful places to capture Minnesota’s fall color. From these roads are also several arterial roads that will really take you into some great opportunities, the photo that accompanies this article “Mistletoe Creek” was taken from such an area.

If you intend to capture some of our great fall color it is always good to check the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources web site, (www.dnr.state.mn.us) they will begin fall color reports usually starting around Labor Day. Peak fall color dates can vary a little from year to year depending on rainfall, temperatures etc. of summer, so it is a good idea to check a color report.

Image Technical Data

Camera: Nikon D100
Lens: Nikon 12mm-24mm @ 12mm
ISO: 200
White Balance: Daylight Cloudy
Exposure: 1/6 second @ F22
Compensation: None
Metering: Matrix
Tripod: Gitzo 1548 CF
Also: Hama Bubble level and cable release