We would see amazing things if we could learn to be travelers in our own neighborhoods, Henry David Thoreau said.
Fall is a great time to explore your own neighborhood and see it with new eyes. Grab a camera and take yourself out for a fun afternoon daytrip!
One of my favorite things to do in the fall is to go on road trips to see the fall foliage — the colorful leaves make the photos.
These wonderful photographs you will take are perfect for Instagram!
All the photos included here have been taken with my (now aging) DS90,
a Coolpix point and shoot,
a waterproof Olympia (for when I kayak and bike), which allowed me to capture this plover wading in the wetlands in Cape Henlopen State Park near Lewes, DE, and
various android phone cameras, such as this one in the chapel of the Patapsco Female Institute in Ellicott City, MD. Lately, I’ve been getting my best shots with those.
One thing I’ve learned is you don’t need a fancy camera to get photos you’ll be really thrilled with.
Over the years, I’ve enjoyed photographing autumn colors in lakes and
national parks and wildlife refuges, such as Dolly Sods National Wildlife Refuge.
But also anywhere, really.
Play around with perspective by using the portrait setting to focus in on one thing in particular and blur out the background.
Don’t forget to check out local cemeteries. During the Victorian age, cemeteries were treated as parks, where you could go to hang out and picnic. Not creepy at all. Somewhere during the last hundred plus years, that trend faded away.
You can find lots of cool grave stones — often created to be looked at and impress folks. And add the colorful leaves, and the cemeteries are even prettier.
Look for Halloween decorations — sometimes these are fun to photograph!
One of my favorite times to go out to photograph things is during or
right after rain. I waited for several minutes for water droplets to collect and roll to the leaf tips for both of the above photos.
Foggy mornings are another favorite time.
Fog adds mystery, and autumn leaves pop out of the white blur, such as these trees in a parking lot at Harpers Ferry National Park, right before a bikeride.
Reflections of leaves in water — so many opportunities to catch that cool photograph.
Barns.
I love my barns.
I often make unplanned stops just to photograph a particularly lovely old barn.
Barn doors can be fun.
I frequently go on barn tours, such as the barn tour of Butler County, PA.
Speaking of Butler County, I was thrilled when I spotted a kayaker wearing the same colors as the autumn leaves!
Covered bridges are also a favorite subject, anytime of the year, but especially in the fall, such as this one in Frederick County, MD.
But don’t overlook an unusual subject, such as these colorful buckets of horse manure, all lined up. The colors were too pretty to not photograph. I tried from several different angles until I got what I was looking for.
Or weeds.
Or old, falling down houses, such as this one in Davis, WV
.
So although this post wasn’t about a particular place, I hope you’ll be inspired to daytrip too, with your camera in hand and with your eyes open to the unique and wonderful place you live in or near!
Please share your photos on MidAtlantic Daytrips’ facebook page — I’d love to see them!
