💦 From Muddy Waters to the Formula Behind Autumn’s Peak

Hello September!

This past month, I waded into new territory—literally—during an aquatics course for my next Master Naturalist certification. I came prepared with underwater housing and high hopes of photographing fish, but Mother Nature had other plans. Heavy storms washed out Newfound Gap Road in the Smokies, and the rivers fared no better. The water was so cloudy it felt like snorkeling through chocolate milk instead of peering into another world. All I carried home was a soggy gear bag and a head full of fresh knowledge about stream life.

Sometimes photography humbles us that way. Not every effort or trip makes an image, but the attempt plants a seed for next time. I’m already determined to give underwater photography another try next summer, when conditions improve and the water is warmer.

For now, I’m shifting focus back to familiar ground, the turning leaves and quiet anticipation of autumn. With another naturalist class on the horizon later this month, I’m leaning into the rhythm of learning while embracing the season’s changes, both in the forest and in myself.

With muddy boots and clear eyes,

THE OBSERVANT LENS
Reflections to deepen our craft and sharpen our vision

Mind the Red: A Fall Photography Tip

The devil is in the details—your histogram details. Not just the big white histogram, but those red, green, and blue (RGB) histograms tucked beneath it. Fall foliage colors (yellow, orange, and red) live in the red channel, which often gets pushed to the right even if the overall histogram looks fine. If that red channel clips, you’ll lose subtle detail in the leaves that no amount of processing can bring back.

To capture all that fiery color, I keep a close eye on the RGB histograms in my camera when photographing, making sure that red channel has breathing room. It’s a small habit that makes a big difference in preserving the richness of autumn scenes.

How to turn them on:

Most cameras call them RGB histograms or separate color histograms.
Check your Playback Display Options (Nikon) or Histogram Settings (Canon, Sony, Fuji).
Instead of just “Brightness” or “Luminance,” choose “RGB.”
Once enabled, review your images and you’ll see three smaller histograms (red, green, blue) stacked or side-by-side under the main one.

The setup only takes a minute, but once you’ve got it, you’ll always know when your reds are safe—and when you’re at risk of losing that fall foliage detail.

Read All My Fall Photo Advice

CAMPFIRE Q&A
Realtime answers to your burning questions

Q&A: How Do You Approach Safety When Solo for Landscape Photography?

Being out alone in nature can be peaceful and rewarding, but it can also feel uneasy at times. Lorraine asked how to handle those moments when safety is on your mind. In this Q&A, I share the habits and tools that help me stay safe and confident on solo outings.

Grab a Seat By the Fire

NATURALIST'S NOTEBOOK
Scientific insights to deepen your connection to the natural world

The Science of Fall Color (and How to Plan for It)

Peak fall color is less about chance and more about science—driven by day length, weather, and tree species. When leaves shift from green to gold, orange, and red, two different processes are at work.

Yellows and oranges are always present. They’re pigments (carotenoids) that sit quietly in the leaf during summer, hidden by the dominant green of chlorophyll. As daylight wanes and chlorophyll production shuts down, those yellows and oranges are revealed.
Reds, however, are different. These pigments are produced only in autumn. They’re created by anthocyanins, pigments the tree produces anew in autumn. Their intensity depends on the balance of sugar in the leaf and the stress the tree experiences. Sunny days allow sugars to build up, while cool (but not freezing) nights trap those sugars in the leaf. The more sugars that accumulate, the more brilliant the reds. This is why some years blaze scarlet and others lean duller. In a cloudy, warm, or year with a rainy stretches, the reds will be duller.

So how do you plan your photography trip? While weather adds unpredictability, the biggest driver is day length. Once nights stretch longer than days, the trees begin their transition. Rainfall and temperature shape how vivid and how long the colors last, but your best hedge is to follow the calendar.

So how do you plan your photography trips around this? Think of it as a timing “formula”:

Photoperiod (day length) is the trigger. The September equinox (Sept 22, 2025) is your universal calendar cue. After this point, expect trees to transition.
Latitude sets the schedule. Higher latitudes (like Maine or northern New York) hit this transition first, often late September. Mid-latitudes (Pennsylvania, Catskills) tend to peak late September through early October. Farther south (Virginia, Smokies) see peak mid-to-late October.
Weather fine-tunes the show.
- Best reds: watch for a stretch of sunny days followed by crisp, cool nights in the 40s°F after the equinox, peak reds often 7-10 days later.
- Muted reds: warm nights or excessive rain.
- Short season: an early frost can cut things short.

Practical Planning for Photographers:

Anchor your planning around the equinox. In northern states, expect peak within 1–3 weeks afterward; in mid-latitudes (Catskills, Poconos), 2–4 weeks; in the southern Appalachians, mid-to-late October.
Watch local long-term forecasts. A streak of sunny days followed by crisp, cool nights are your green light.
Build flexibility into your travel. Even outside “peak week,” there’s magic. Some of the best images come just before or after peak, think patchwork color, mist weaving through thinning trees, or stark late-autumn silhouettes.

Formula in a nutshell:
Equinox + latitude + sunny days + cool nights = your best bet for peak color.

FOCUS POINTS
To utter, repeat, and shape our mindset

“There is a time in the last few days of summer
when the ripeness of autumn fills the air.”
— Rudolfo Anaya

TRAIL FINDS
Curated resources, news, and inspiration for your journey

1.) Steve Kemp’s new book An Exaltation of Parks: John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s Crusade to Save America’s Wonderlands (University of Utah Press, July 2025) traces Rockefeller’s pivotal role in shaping the national park system, from Acadia to the Smokies.

2.) Photographer and podcaster Matt Payne has launched The Colorado Way, a book of Colorado photography and field-tested lessons from his Colorado Trail through-hike and quest to climb the state’s highest 100 peaks. It blends images, essays, and practical insights on creativity, resilience, and connection to place.

3.) Tony Kuyper has released the TK Grayscale Plugin for Photoshop, a creative tool that makes black-and-white conversions more flexible than Photoshop alone. It offers one-click conversions, randomized variations, channel-based options, live-clipping previews, and built-in toning. For a limited time, it’s bundled with the TK Magic Mixer Plugin and available at a launch discount with code Gray25.

4.) Join Horizons Photography for a free Fall Bash webinar on September 16th, 2025 (tonight!), at 8:00 PM Eastern featuring photo tips, challenges, giveaways, and a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming conference.

5.) Join Beth Buelow on October 21st, 2025, at 1:00 PM Eastern for Approaching Abstraction, a free Nature Photographers Network (NPN) webinar on cultivating your abstract eye through noticing, photographing, and processing. Live is free; replay for NPN members only.

6.) Joy Kachina has been named 2025 Natural Landscape Photographer of the Year by the Natural Landscape Photography Awards (NLPA). See the full gallery of winning images—including category winners like Luis Vilariño, David Shaw, Ilan Shacham, and Hanneke Van Camp—and preorder the fifth annual NLPA book, featuring work from over 140 artists worldwide.

7.) Sarah Marino joins the Shutter Nonsense podcast hosted by Michael Rung and Jeffrey Tadlock to talk about creating and publishing photography eBooks, sharing insights on process, strategy, and connecting with readers.

8.) David duChemin reflects on creativity in Change Your Lens or…, a reminder that sometimes shifting perspective matters more than upgrading gear.

9.) Nigel Danson has set out to photograph every county in England in his self-built campervan. Follow along on YouTube as he chases light, weather, and landscapes across the country. Watch Episode 1.

10.) Nathan Becker shares Poetic Visuals Volume 2: Resonances, an exploration of images that blend artistry with emotion, inviting viewers to see beyond the surface.