Autumn Leaves and Summer Skies

A few days ago, I hiked some of the Perry Creek trail off the Mountain Loop Highway. Although the scenery of late spring and early summer will always be my favorite - I can't get enough of those wildflowers, as you know - this time of year is great for hiking in and of itself. There aren't as many bugs, trails are likely to be dry and clear, creeks are easy to cross, and the weather is typically dry but not hot. These were all true of the Perry Creek Trail, and overall, the hike was a very enjoyable summer-meets-fall situation. On the one hand, the sunshine was warm, with cumulus clouds overhead, and much of the foliage was still green. On the other, the vine maples were starting to show autumn colors, and shaded areas in the morning had that distinctive September chill.

First, a view down the Perry Creek valley toward Hall Peak. I like the look of the clouds in this one, and was excited about this composition because I don't typically do a lot of sky photography. F/18.

Next, one with a similar concept, but with the vine maple branches and leaves more prominently featured. F/18.

Here's an image from my turnaround point, at Perry Creek Falls. The trail sits above most of the waterfall, but the parts that can be seen safely are still nice. F/16, 3 seconds.

Below, a view up the valley early in the morning. I like the distinct color zones in this image, and the sunlit area at the top, although the overall composition isn't as eye-catching as this view was in person. F/16.

Next, two more views of the valley featuring early-autumn colors. In the second of this pair, there aren't any obvious straight lines (e.g. tree trunks), making the perspective effect less distracting. (The lens was at an upward angle, which would have made straight lines appear to converge. I dealt with this a lot last year when shooting downward into valleys; see the final image in this post). F/18 and F/16, respectively. 

Finally, bigleaf maple leaves and seeds, with Hall Peak in the background. Given the high-contrast lighting, this one turned out better than I had expected. F/5.6.