An Anxious Quest for Fall

Exploring the tranquil lakeside.

I was anxious that I hadn't photographed fall in the area, so I decided to visit the Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton Township to photograph the picturesque treeline at the lake.

I began my photography walk at the southern edge of the artificial lake. The early morning sun radiated a warm glow. It seemed the perfect day for capturing some fall colour. My focus was on the trees bordering the lake's edge. I set up my Fuji X-T3 on the tripod with the XF16-55mF2.8 R LM WR lens and a Hoya PROND1000 filter. I wanted long exposures with silky smooth water.

Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · October 22, 2023 · FujiFilm X-T3 · XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR

I strolled north along the eastern side of the James Sayen Trail (green markers) that loops around the lake, frequently stopping to take photographs. The snail would win if a landscape photographer and a snail were in a race. 🙂

Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · October 22, 2023 · FujiFilm X-T3 · XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR

Each step revealed a new perspective, a fresh angle, and an opportunity to freeze time in a frame.

Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · October 22, 2023 · FujiFilm X-T3 · XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR

I fine-tuned my photographs using Adobe Lightroom and Luminar AI to enhance the colours and highlight the details.

October Morning on Blue Spring Road

I started this iPhone series in 2017, posting a photograph of the same location around the same time every year except for 2020 and 2021.

I started this photo series in 2017, posting a photograph captured near this location on Blue Spring Road around the same time every year except for 2020 and 2021. The line of trees seems to turn red between the third and fourth week of October. The first post was captured on an iPhone, and subsequent posts were captured on either an iPhone or a Fuji X series camera.

A trailhead near the middle of the trees leads to the Autumn Hill Reservation, situated between Blue Spring Road and Herrontown Woods.

Kodak Vision3 50D - One Good Frame

I was disappointed with all but this one frame.

I shot an entire 24-exposure roll of Kodak Vision3 50D 35mm film that I bought from the Film Photography Project. I exposed the roll while out for a mid-October hike looking for fall colour in Community Park North and Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve. Because of the low ISO, I brought along my Manfrotto tripod, Minolta XD-11 and exposed each frame from the tripod.

The roll was developed at Boutique Film Lab and scanned with VueScan 9 on my Epson Perfection V600u using my normal workflow. I spent $10.00 for ECN-2 processing plus $6.50 for return shipping. The total cost to produce these frames, including the film, was $25.49.

I was disappointed with all but one frame, the one in the post header. All of the other frames look terrible. They look flat—what a waste of money. This is similar to my experience with Kodak Vision3 250D. Fortunately, this was my only roll of Kodak Vision3 50D. I will not be using this film stock again.

I have two rolls of CineStill 400D that I am now apprehensive about using. Compared to the digital versions, there is nothing desirable about these frames.

Name Kodak Vision3 50D
Price US$9.99
Type Motion picture film (negative)
Native ISO 50
Format 35mm
Process ECN-2
Features Exposure latitude from -5 to +5 stops
Lab Boutique Film Lab
Scanner Epson Perfection V600
Software VueScan 9
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve · Kodak Vision3 50D · Thursday 13 October 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2