Tomorrow I’m off to a near woodland to shoot autumn woodland landscape scenes. Any tips or tricks that I can try to get the perfect photograph?

Thanks!

my suggestion is not to take as many photos as you can. i use to do that and end up going thro so many bad potographs that I didn’t like anyone of them and never shared them.

The best tip i can say is look around think about the landscape you want to shoot. before you go or on your journey there write down some key words. Trail, animal, large open space, unique trees, just to help give you a focus when your out there. Now that don’t mean you can’t shoot somethign else just one of the key words will be your perfect photograph.
while your walking look for the key words when you find one ask. How can I get the most impact from this trail. it’s a straight and narrow trail maybe I should find one that goes down hill and has some switchbacks. line up a shot and see it but don’t click it yet.
ask yourself while looking.
how is the sky is it over blown? in view finder you most liekly won’t see this. but ask yourself anyway. (key is to be mindful of what is going on)
ask yourself my what is my main subject, what mood do i want viewers to feel, what do i feel, is there an item in this landscape i want the main focus to be. did i apply the rules of 3rd.
this seems like a lot of stuff to ask yourself. and if you want to go the extra mile write it down.
this will help you get thinking more about why your taking the photo. if you feel you just have to have it then take it. but pleas ask yourself some of those questions once you get use to it it will be on auto and it won’t take long.
once your done go to the next spot and do the same thing. dont’ look at the photos. but do go back through the same spots and take the same photo again with different lighting different weather and timeing using a tri pod if you want.

the main key is to think more then you click!

Whats a good way of landscaping that saves water? I have a small fish pond in the upper right hand corner of my front yard, a little garden that stretches at the left and the rest is just grass.

There are several means to save water. When we lived in CA we cut our water consumption by 67% by installing drip watering systems and mini rainbirds throughout the garden as well as removing the front lawn and planting with plants that consume less water, though just about anything consumes less water than a lawn.

We now live in NJ and while we get plenty of rain and rarely need watering systems, years such as this will horrific heat and little water will stress out our 1 acre of butterfly gardens, bog gardens, woodland and shade gardens.

Following a few simple rules will cut water consumption.
1. Compost beds. Place a layer of compost on all beds. Not too thick. We have seen so many beds with too much compost the water can barely find the soil or types that do not decompose. We use 100% ground of leaves from our trees, makes a great compost and decomposes into a great soil. This keeps as much moisture content in the soil as possible and attracts a great home for many worms who in turn aerate the soil.
2. Use a potting soil with polymers for any potted plants. And if possible, use drip watering systems with them with a timer that goes on at 3:00 AM to decrease evaporation.
3. Plant native plants. Natives outside of bog and water plants, are from your area and generally require the least amount of water. Our Butterfly Gardens are full of Coneflowers, rudbeckias, baptisa, milkweed, and others native to this area. Until this years heat and lack of water we had not watered at all in 5 years. Only Mother Nature.
4. Use a timer if you have sprinklers and water in early morning at 3:00 – 6:00AM. This cuts evaporation from sprinkers.
5. Install rain barrels to the gutter downspouts.