Fall is a special time visually for many reasons. The classic is the color of the leaves however the shift in temperature combined with some increased moisture brings out some season fungus too. My backyard and the backyard at OctoPi yielded some tiny treats last week. I’ve got quite a bit going on it seems and having these things pop up just a few feet from my door is really handy. My only regret is that I haven’t started any mushroom logs to replace the ones that gave up the ghost last winter. That will be a project for next year and hopefully I can get more varieties going.
Grundy Forest Natural Area
A friend wanted to go hiking and follow it up with some pizza and beer this weekend at OctoPi. I was happy to oblige and the weather was excellent for some hiking. We had our first real coldsnap this fall. Temps got down into the 30’s on the Cumberland Plateau. I picked a mid level hike, not too long but with some elevation changes and a little rough terrain to cross. Grundy Forest Natural Area near Tracy City has two trails. Fiery Gizzard which runs from the natural area picnic site and ranger station 11.75 miles down to Foster Falls. There is also a nice loop trail the branches off from Fiery Gizzard and comes back out near the picnic area. We took the loop.
Really nice browns on this cluster of mushrooms along the side of the trail.
There were recent rains and the temperatures had been down consistently enough to trigger some nice mushroom growth. I got a few shots, but this cluster of mushrooms that were at the end of their time really worked for me.
I only carried my Canon 70D with the 100mm Macro lens even though we were going to be hiking along a creek with tons of falls and cascades. The sky was clear and blue, this was really a hike trip not a photography outing. I generally don’t take good photos when I am out with other folks. I don’t get into my zone very easily if I know someone is standing around waiting on me to get moving. Even so, I spotted this cascade in full shade and found an angle to get a pretty satisfying shot.
Video Production
This is my first pass at editing a video more than just a cut or trim and adding some music to a single cut. I'm working on learning DaVinci Resolve which at first blush looks to be an amazing tool. I've also included footage from all 3 tools in my bag here. Comments on this post are appreciated.
Gator Hunt
One of my favorite places to go close to home is Blackwell Run. I mentioned Wheeler Wildlife Refuge in the last post. I’ve been out there a couple of times this week because other local photographers have gotten shots of one of the alligators that haunt that inlet off the Tennessee river. It’s been a couple of years since I saw one but the conditions are great right now. The water is down and the temperature is up. After about 4 hours of watching I managed to snag one photo and a video of the one running around an easily accessible section of the swampy area.
I also grabbed a couple of other shots too while waiting.
