Gold and Copper - The beauty of an Irish woodland in autumn

A story posted in the Burren Stories, a section of the The Burren Light & Landphotography project.

Autumn is peaking in the woods

I might have overdone Coole Park a little bit this year. We just had a dry enough summer and that perfect bit of rain since, just enough to prepare nature for a fantastic display of organic decay before the winter. Towards the end of October and in the first half of November I love to get into a woodland and observe the changing colours. Coole Park is simply the most beautiful woods we have this corner of Ireland. With numerous paths bring you into all corners of the park, it is not hard to find some favourite compositions which you will be drawn to, year after year.

For my part, I just love the avenue of trees far down to the 'lower' side of the park, where the woodland is interrupted by a vast grazing area hosting 'Coole Lake', a turlough known for its swans, which keeps Coole separated from Garryland, a less frequented but nonetheless beautiful woodland, accessible from the L4510. Let's see how autumn unfolded along this beautiful lane.

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." — Albert Camus.

29th October

A pale path passes mossy trunks and green-gold autumn vegetation in the woodland at Coole Park, County Galway.

A sunny start on the 29th October

The end of October is always full of hope. As days get shorter and cooler, I start to visit Coole Park often, observing the trees for changes in colour, the indication that leaves start decaying. Noone knows at this stage how colours are going to peak! I've seen storms take it all away before a chance to set a tripod down. Sometimes, the colours are a little too shy to come out, a hint of gold, a spec of rust, not too much really, yet we hope. Everyone has seen those gorgeous Appalachian colours!

I was particularly pleased with myself that morning as sunshine made an entrance into my compositions. Oh, it is discreet, for sure. A hint of warmth and light, on the right hand side. All the same, it give an extra depth as the far end of the lane is lit up by a touch of gold.

2nd October

A leaf-covered path winding beneath golden autumn trees in Coole Park near Gort, County Galway.

Only 4 days later

Probably the most spectacular progression as in barely 4 days, much of the green is gone, golden leaves have taken over the beautiful site. There isn't so much light lifting the colours in the foreground, but this is exactly what we need to intensify the golden glow against enough light still to lit up the pale tree trunks in the distance.

The woods are quiet, it is not cold yet for this time of the year but there isn't much chirping in the canopy, only a few birds hopping around, looking for insects and worms. The beauty is visual! It is not long before the leaves fall to the ground. With a bit of luck, no high winds compromise the plans to see the trees colour-peak along the lane.

7th October

A wide autumn woodland path leading towards luminous golden foliage at Coole Park in County Galway.

Coole at its peak!

It's only a few more days since the last visit still the transformation continues, golden leaves slowly turn a lovely copper. This is peak. A thin layer of surface mist pushes the background even further away, there us some lightness to the scene, a few more days will see all the leaves fall down and take an essential part in another cycle of life in the woods.

I am quite pleased that it turned out quite well this year! This is me done with the woodland for a while, until it blooms again.

If you would like to see more of Coole Park, follow this link

How to capture some woodland colour peak

Visit often! Tomorrow might be a windy or rainy day, or the leaves may have just peaked and you hope there is still more to it?
Shoot with a low aperture. With such level of detail and texture in a photograph, back to front focus beats corner sharpness. It's a choice to make! Stacking is always an option although not always required. The sheer amount of leaves do make stacking complicated if you shoot with a bit of wind!
Look for leading lines! Woodland, hard to 'scale', is a challenge to photograph. A leading line instantly transport your image into a three dimensional world.
Mist and light are both cherries on the cake. Mist for mystery and back to front separation, light for perspective, scale and contrast!