Fall foliage peaking at Matthiessen State Park near Oglesby, IL
This month, I've been quite busy photographing fall foliage around the local-area across central Illinois. Every year I drive to several state parks in search of autumn scenes and fall foliage. This year, I once again visited Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Park near Oglesby, IL to add to my 2014 fall collection. I also visited Starved Rock last fall as well seen here. I sure got my exercise this year after visiting Matthiessen and Starved Rock State Park on three different occasions to make sure I captured the fall colors peaking in the area. If you know me well you know I'm quite fascinated with the weather but fall weather can be quite boring as compared to the other seasons, yet I still enjoy observing Nature's way of putting on a show before the winter season takes hold. It's always an amazing sight to see as the fall colors make an appearance every year. At Starved Rock I hiked just about all the trails on a few occasions. I checked out Ottawa Canyon, Kaskaskia Canyon, and LaSalle Canyon. I found a few waterfalls during my hikes through Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Park as well to my liking. I shot nearly all of these photos with my Canon 5D Mark III along with my Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L lens. Anyhow, I've added a ridiculous amount of photos this year as I went all out this year chasing autumn scenes in these state parks. The photos from several days of hiking trails and beautiful fall foliage can be found below:
"Fall on fire"
"Fall cascading"
"Stepping into fall"
Beautiful yellow's atop this canyon!
Fall colors peaking along this canyon!
Red's bursting along my route along the Illinois River as well...
A cloudy and wet fall morning at Starved Rock
Sometimes the best shots are the simplest shots as in this particular photo! Simple, yet...perfect!
A wet and rainy day causing a lot of "leaf drop" to occur...
I love this elevated-view along the Illinois River!
This tree really "golden" during golden-hour!
A really neat wind sculpture at Starved Rock which was too cool not to photograph...
Autumn really showing off along this stretch of highway!
A recent heavy rainstorm combined with peaking fall foliage provided for some spectacular waterfall displays!
"Fall all along the landscape"
Canyon walls and more fall foliage!
Quite a fall scene here near sunset...
A variety of fall colors along this trail!
It was raining on this day which made photographing waterfalls a little bit harder since I had to keep trying to keep the raindrops off the lens...
The sun makes a brief appearance causing the red's to really "pop"...
Quite a colorful scene here along the Illinois River!
Fall colors making their appearance along this trail...
"Driving through fall"
A stream of flowing water alongside fall foliage!
An elevated-view showcasing the "patchy" foliage on this day...
Quite a variety of fall in this photo!
I don't know about you, but I see a face in this tree trunk...spooky!
Another waterfall shot along a canyon!
One of my favorites from this fall...
"The first signs of fall"
Slow shutter speeds and flowing water can create some really unique images...
Absolutely amazing the variety of fall leaves in this shot!
Another slice of fall color here...
I absolutely love this bridge during the fall season!
Ok, it's another bridge, but hang on just a sec...
The same exact photo about a week apart...how quickly the colors change, how cool is that?!
A cool hiking path...
Love it!
Lots of fall colors present here!
Every fall these trees are amazing!
Pretty amazing the array of color here...
The yellow colors of fall beginning to make an appearance...
The sun providing a "golden" photo opportunity!
It's hard not to find every color of the rainbow represented in this photo...
"A staircase to fall"
A great afternoon to enjoy the fall weather and colors!
I was thrilled to come across this bridge on this day...
Quite a photogenic yellow maple tree
Lots and lots of color...
I really wish I could of got more sunlight out of this shot, but I was still happy with it...
The art of a photographer's "selfie" is not as simple as pulling out a smartphone and taking a pic, it's setting up a tripod, framing the shot, and using the self-timer effectively all on your own.
It doesn't get much better than this!
"Fall hanging-on along the Illinois River"
Fall colors peaking!
Not a whole lot of foliage here, but a fun trail to hike nevertheless...
Quite a bit of standing water thanks to some abundant rainfall in early October!
Another great drive into autumn!
Awesome!
An abundance of rainfall creating a waterfall and a fall scene at Matthiessen State Park
A spectacular view here!
"A fall drive along IL Rt. 71"
Hard not to think twice about walking across this bridge...a spooky shot!
Another quick fall portrait of myself...
I couldn't get enough of the beautiful colors here!
Fall beginning to show itself...
"The winding roads of autumn"
Fall leaves and a waterfall!
I really like this shot!
More color...
A yellow maple with an emerald green landscape thanks to recent rains!
A sunstar as I enter the park!
It looks like a horse...odd!
A nice fall landscape!
Beautiful!
Great colors!
It would of been better with a little bit of sunshine, but it'll still do...
I saw this interesting hollow stump along this path and turned it into a pleasing shot!
No color's in this shot and no bigfoot either...
I also really like this shot along this canyon thanks to the elevated vantage point that came across my path!
Lots of yellow maple's peaking...
A cool rugged landscape shot!
Trees bursting with color along this trail...
"Leaf drop" really made for a nice shot!
Hiking and enjoying the colors...
One more shot of this particular waterfall!
I really needed some sunshine right here, oh well!
More hiking into canyons...
One more shot of the bridge along River Trail!
A small waterfall at LaSalle Canyon...
"Fall reaching for the sky"
Such a great area to hike during the fall...
Colors beginning to change along River Trail!
Some orange beginning to show on this tree...
I really have taken an interest in hiking over the last year...
LaSalle Canyon!
"The colors of fall"
A neat landscape!
"Canyons and fall colors"
"On the road to autumn"
I was hoping for a sunny day at this particular location to make the scene even better...
Leaves bursting with color along the Illinois River!
Fall beginning to peak here...
A great view!
An amazing view at Ottawa Canyon!
"Patches of fall"
Nice colors atop the canyon walls here...
I really like the "balance" in this shot!
It can be tough on cloudy days photographing canyons with the lack of ambient light...
Water and rocks...
One more of this bridge, I really needed a greater concentration of sunlight...better luck next year!
Another interesting shot!
Tree damage from summer severe thunderstorms along this hiking trail...
It was another great year for fall photos for myself. I really enjoy traveling and finding photogenic scenes to showcase autumn at its best in central Illinois. I'll have another follow-up fall post in the coming days showcasing more fall scenes that I shot locally in Peoria, IL. This year, I once again was quite happy with my results. During the winter, I'll be adding more posts as I find some down time to photograph the winter season as well.
