While teaching my Fall Color Tumwater Canyon and Lake Wenatchee Class, I had put my students on assignment to shoot a 1/2-mile section of the Wenatchee River. This was their third day of class, so I had them all trained up pretty good, and I wanted them to spend an hour on their own using all the techniques I had taught them to go find as many excellent shots as they could. Then we would meet again and talk through their favorites.
I played along also. As I moved down the river, I would check in with each student as I passed them. All the while, I was also taking as many good compositions as I could find. On my way back, I caught a view of reflections of fall color in a not quite still pool in the river. I knew right away I wanted to capture something I like to call “Painterly.”
I pushed all the way out to 105 on my zoom, took a few shots to get my color and white balance just right. My first shots were at 1/2 second, and I knew that was too much. I was not creating the look I was looking for. So, I increased ISO to 200, then 400, then settled on 640, which gave me an exposure of 1/20th of a second—perfect! I adjusted the composition a couple of times, then pow! Nailed that! That was exactly what I was looking for. This is certainly an image I will print and possibly display in both of my galleries, as I love the artistic look of this image.
I am happy to report my students all did excellent on their assignment, and they enjoyed their time on their own in Tumwater Canyon. Happy shooting, everyone!
