Every once in a while I offer some insights on how I end up with the images I share here and this post is one of those times. I used to drive around for hours looking for subjects, but these days I find it harder to allot time to just look. So this particular day I was hoping to get a couple fall foliage shots and was driving the area when I noticed this tree lined farm lane with maple trees just past prime but still very colorful. I pulled off the road so I could walk over to the entrance to the lane and get a tree framed view of the barns. I snapped a couple angles and was walking back to the car when I saw a buggy coming. I thought this will be awesome with my original composition plus a buggy added to the equation! So I sat in the car camera pre-focused, exposure set, ready to blast a series of shots and the top image is the best result of that series. This is not the first time I have found my calculations for a shot turned out to be way off. First the shots I got with the full buggy showing literally blocks the entire farm scene, and even with a fast shutter speed the buggy moving right to left in front of me had some motion blur.

So as I evaluated my error and considered the lay of the land around me I decided to climb a hill behind me. As I got up the hill I noticed that bright area of fallen leaves to the left of the tree and thought if I could get one more buggy passing, I could get what I was after! I waited maybe five minutes and not only did a buggy come but he actually turned into the farm lane which made him stand out clearly against the fallen leaves giving me more than I had hoped for. Surprisingly this is one of my favorites from this fall season because of several points. First I feel the composition is perfectly balanced, it gives you a feeling of going home, the yellow maples, two red barns and two red maples just make a pleasing autumn scene and the horses eating in the pasture add a nice touch! So explore the options wherever your journey takes you!