Photograph info: This photo was taken on Monday afternoon at a nearby house with one pear tree and several insanely gorgeous sugar maples in the front garden. The blur (or bokeh) is due to using this lens wide open at f/1.2.
Sugar maples are revered for their sap, which is used for maple syrup, and for their wildly bright autumn colors - oranges, reds, yellows - which light up lilke stained glass windows when the sun shines through them.
We've been fortunate to have extended summer-like weather with sun and temps in the mid-70s for the past week. Hope you're enjoying autumn as much as we are!
Camera settings and post-processing: Shot with the Canon EOS 5D
Thank you for visiting Durham Township!
--Kathleen
---------------
On a different note, I started feeling a little sad about how people are treating each other during this election season, so I designed a few tee-shirts to remind everyone that we all have a heart!
Please vote, but play nice!
Click on the image below to go to the little store I set up at Spreadshirt.
Great image. But how did you get the 1.2 apperture on a f2.8 lens haha
Posted by rady on October 14, 2008 2:50 AMOh wow!!! I totally love this photo!! It is so warm and beautiful!
Posted by beth on October 14, 2008 2:59 AMNo photoshopping in this one? that's pretty cool. The blurring makes it look like a modern art artifact :P
Posted by Jeet on October 14, 2008 3:01 AMI love this!!
Posted by Frida on October 14, 2008 3:31 AMBeautiful rendering of colours in the out of focus area. I was thinking about this photo and thought that normally you have a theme and a blurred background not to distract. But with this one the background is so beautiful that I consider that to be the main theme and a sharp pear is the 'background'. Great work.
Posted by yz on October 14, 2008 3:35 AMHow do you manage to get f/1.2 with the f/2.8 24-70mm lens? I like the light and glowing colours, looks like a painting.
Posted by oldshutterhand on October 14, 2008 4:35 AMFantastic color Kathleen. The composition and all of that beautiful background really makes the pears pop off of the screen so nicely. Great work as always. That mid 70's weather sounds wonderful. Seattle is in full fall mode, rain and gray skies with the occasional 60 degree sunny day. Mike.
Posted by Mike Hren on October 14, 2008 6:33 AMA picture like a fairytale - I love it. Thanks for sharing your beautiful surroundings with us!
Posted by Leonie on October 14, 2008 7:06 AMLove the golden red colors here Kathleen and that pear seems to be leaping out of my screen!
Posted by Bob on October 14, 2008 7:18 AMrady and oldshutterhand: Whoops! I was using the 85mm f/1.2L - my bad. :) Thanks for the correction! I fixed the description.
Jeet: Yes, I used photoshop to post-process -- a few curves adjustments to bump up the contrast and saturation and some toning with the color balance tool -- probably less than two minutes total.
I spend a lot of time working with the camera, the lenses and the locations to take photos that require as little post work as possible. I love being outdoors and I don't enjoy sitting in front of a monitor.
It took me several days to take this photo -- I saw the scene last week and stopped to photograph it but realized the light wasn't ideal and that the maple leaves would be more colorful if I waited a few days. So I went back yesterday at 3:00 p.m. when I knew the sun would be in the right location and spent 20 minutes shooting the pear at various angles. I probably took 50 shots, being sure the pear had a crisp focus and the background elements -- which are really the largest part of the composition -- were positioned in an intriguing and complimentary way.
IMO, the most satisfying part of photography is taking the picture - and using your noggin to figure out how to make the camera and lenses work for you.
Posted by Kathleen on October 14, 2008 7:20 AMVery nice composition. The colors are very nice.
Posted by Jeff on October 14, 2008 9:08 AMBeautiful!! I love the background that looks almost like an oil painting!! I look every day, and rarely leave comments, but this was just too gorgeous
Posted by David on October 14, 2008 11:30 AMgreat colors. there is no doubt what season it is there :)
Posted by niv on October 14, 2008 1:52 PMwhat a lovely image. The colors merging in the background are magnificent. Bravo!
This is just a great image. Composition is great. Colors are marvelous!
This is a keeper!!
Posted by mikelangelo on October 14, 2008 4:15 PMAwesome. Took two hours just to regain voluntary motor nerve control. Best pear shot (capture) since the discovery of the lens. The splashes of blue, upper left, accelerate the effect of the warms huge.
Spent an evening this week looking at hundreds of abstract works in search of inspirational concepts. This "background-that-is-the-foreground" takes the cake. Totally willing to overlook that you can't remember which lens it was......this is art.
Enjoy the cake.
Posted by david tinnon on October 14, 2008 6:03 PM Kathleen
More so at this time ofthe year my heart is in Pennsylvania . Your photos ease the pain ,thanks .
Adolph
Once again you present a magnificent image.
Thanks for sharing this, i love coming to this site!
DW
Posted by Dean on October 14, 2008 10:00 PMMy goodness look at those colours! I hear you with regards to the setup of "the perfect capture"... it took me a little while to get this shot http://miklos.ca/081009 my knees were giving out from crouching so long :) (Should've brought a tripod.)
Anyway, great photo.
Posted by miklos on October 14, 2008 10:29 PMThe deliciously colorful Bokeh is really wonderful. Your time getting this shot was definitely time well spent.
Posted by Laurie on October 14, 2008 11:13 PMThe bokeh in this one is just brilliant. It does resemble an oilpainting or a monet or something else ekspressionistic. I'm glad you waited a few days to get this crispy light and took your time to getting the angle just right.
Brilliant work!
Posted by Kristian on October 15, 2008 3:35 AMThis is indeed Art. It is one of those sights that take your breath away.
Posted by Noreen on October 15, 2008 6:23 AMFantastic image - most impressed
Zoe
Stunning, stunning, stunning. The bokeh is amazing and perfectly lit - you're inspiring me to get out there with my much neglected 85mm 1.2. It's so unforgiving sometimes, but naturally, you nailed this shot!
Posted by Betsy Barron on October 15, 2008 9:38 AMAwesome image!!!
Posted by Darin on October 15, 2008 2:56 PMMy, this is special....the warm and mottled autumn colors in the background and the finely resolved detail of the pear up front. The 3 dimensional depth of the image is striking. A wonderful image.
Posted by Mike Blanchard on October 15, 2008 11:14 PMStunning shot.The background seems a painting with a really nice warm colors and awesome bokeh.
Posted by Emma on October 16, 2008 4:06 PMStunning detail. Love the autumnal background bokeh and blurr. Excellent!
Posted by Marcie on October 17, 2008 1:30 PMGreat photo and great colours, isn'y atum a great time to get out with the camera.
Love your work
Regards
Adrian
Yummy! What a desirable looking "pair"! The only thing we can see is the good stuff. But, does it taste as good as it looks? Does the branch it hangs on make a difference? What are all those shadowy things in the background that are being kept out of focus?
We better stop thinking about the appearance and see what is really under the skin. No matter how beautifully you describe it, it is the taste that really matters!
So, let's stop "picking" based on emotion, respect all opinions, buy a tee shirt, exercise our minds and exercise our precious right to vote!
Posted by Willow on October 21, 2008 10:15 PMwonderfull colors! the fall is your season.
Posted by minimodi on October 23, 2008 12:55 PMI am loving this photograph. The colors are wonderful. You've used your skills to create an amazingly rich photo. Very nice!
Posted by Aisha K on November 17, 2008 10:05 PM