I took this landscape shot at the base of the Sierras Mountains in California near Bishop. Autumn colors appear more saturated and compelling under an overcast sky. Contrast from a harsh sun creates too many highlights and shadows that detract from the subject. In this picture, I actually had both soft and diffused light as well as direct sun on the trees at the top of the frame. This was caused by a partly cloudy sky, and the demarcation line between shadow and highlight marks the edge of a cloud. In post-processing, I had to tone down the highlights on the yellow trees and lighten the foreground vegetation to even out the contrast. My settings were 1/250, f/16, and 800 ISO. I had to use a small lens aperture because the 200mm focal length would have limited the depth of field.
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