For us, fall is about three weeks later than it was last year, and our leaves have just barely started turning.įor those of you who have yet to see any leafy changes yet, I recommend to do some pinpointed Google Weather searches for any locations that might give you a clue into how quickly your autumn season is progressing as well as checking specifically into the locations that you want to work in.
Here in Utah, every year is completely different than the year before. As soon as that furthest, or highest, location starts turning color then that should give you a rough gauge to operate on to start planning shoots in lower locations. When it starts cooling off and you know that the color changes are coming, start scouting some of those locations. Specifically, start tracking locations that are either the furthest north or that are at the highest altitude. This is why locations further north experience their fall season much earlier than locations much closer to the earth's equator.Ĭanon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM | 20mm īasically, the best way that I have found to start tracking and planning locations for autumn shoots is to really start watching weather reports. As a basic rule of thumb, fall color changes move down the mountain, or down the temperature zones. I say highest possible because there are indeed altitudes in which trees and plant growth simply cannot survive. The trees that wil start to change in color will be found at the highest possible altitude. This is basic earth science, the higher you go, the cooler the air will be. If you have ever taken a hike up a mountain, chances are you noticed how the temperatures at the base are much warmer than the temperatures that exist at the summit. This causes the leaves to progress from a leafy green state to brown and leaving the trees much quicker, resulting in much less of a color display.Īltitude plays into this realm of timing, as does proximity to the equator. Rapid progression into freezing temperatures causes the leaves to close their veins much quicker, which reduces the amount of sugars and pigments that are left in the leaves. The gradual onset of autumn, where the days are warmer and sunny while the nights are cool but not freezing, is the set of circumstances where the leaf colors will show with the most vibrancy. Temperature and moisture levels are the key influences during this time. The amount of color that develops during the season, and the brilliance that it displays, is in large part related specifically to the weather conditions both before and during the time when the chlorophyll dwindles. Bark beetles, other insects, and diseases that damage trees can have an impact on how those colors end up looking during the fall season.Ĭanon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM | 16mm The amount of those pigments present is determined by the type of tree or bush as well as the health of those particular plants during the growing season. When this happens the carotenoids and anthocyanins, which are already present in the leaves, are then unmasked and those pigments show through. When the days grow shorter and the nights lengthen, the trees produce less and less chlorophyll until eventually the chlorophyll production stops completely and whatever left of that pigmentation is destroyed. During the growing season, the leaves are continuously producing chlorophyll, which is why the dominant colors present at those times are greens. Each tree type will have differing amounts of each pigment which ultimately results in it's own unique type of coloration in the leaves. Then we have the Anthocyanins which are responsible for the reddish pigments in leaves.
Carotenoids are the pigments that produce those yellow, orange, and brown spectrums of colors. Chlorophyll is the pigment that gives leaves the basic green colors that we see throughout spring and summer. Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM | 28mm īasically, there are three different types of pigments that are involved with the color changes that occur in fall.
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