Autumn ritual

Message 717 of 986

I took this one because I liked the leaf that shows within the smoke on the right side of the frame, & the glowing edges of the burnt leaves on the left side.

I had fun trying to capture the flames & smoke of my burning leaf pile, & took dozens of pictures. Dusk was closing in which was ideal for flames, but I wanted to capture the smoke, too. Trying to catch the roiling flames *and* smoke & keeping the camera's light level reasonably balanced in fast-dimming twilight made it interesting for me, lol!

If anybody wants to share tips on low light or on photographing flames, please do!

posted by Sylk

I like it. In fact, I like the entire set of leaf-burning you have on Flickr. I think my personal favorite is “slipstream of smoke” because it nicely displays all 4 elements; ember, leaf, smoke and flame.

posted by John1Pa
over 2 years ago

Why, thanks for taking the time to peruse the stream, John1Pa - I appreciate it :-) The whole set was quite a challenge for me, because my point-&-shoot doesn't have the kind of settings that would've made this easier (probably, lol!)

posted by Sylk
over 2 years ago

Sylk, that's a face, bottom right, that your burning. What had he/she done to displease you so?

posted by Taffy41
over 2 years ago

I like it Sylk. Taf, I don't think Sylk would burn a face on purpose. I see the face too, LOL.

I wish we were still allowed to burn leaves. The state banned the practice years ago.

posted by MissPepr
over 2 years ago

That's the spirit of the Green Man, getting ready to rest for the winter :-)

Normally I don't like to burn leaves, preferring to use them as composting natural mulch in various places. But they were SO thick in this particular spot of the front yard that moving them just wasn't practical.

posted by Sylk
over 2 years ago

I checked out the series. Very nice. This is a challenge.

posted by bug44man
over 2 years ago

Very cool.

posted by StephanieChupein
over 2 years ago

If your point and shoot has spot metering capabilities, you should probably meter on a brighter spot in the flame, thus causing the lens to stop down and reduce the blown out areas.

If it doesn't have spot metering, you can just move in as close as possible (don't get burned) and point the center of the viewfinder at a bright spot, then while holding the shutter button halfway down, back away and recompose.

posted by TJfromAZ
over 2 years ago

Thanks, TJfromAZ -- my Kodak doesn't have spot metering, so that's what I tried to do when it was possible. But with the constant motion of both flames & smoke, it wasn't easy :-) I did learn some things though, & it was great practice. Lots of fun!

posted by Sylk
over 2 years ago

I like this photo so much--I see what you mean about capturing the whole leaf in the flames, and the smoke adds so much.

I also see the face in the lower right of the picture--poor soul :)