It’s the end of autumn when I write this and the season is still treating us with colours, interesting skies and good light, which are great conditions for me to get out and capture landscapes. The conditons change quickly and yes it can be wet and grey too, but I gotta catch some of that magic! I’ve heard before from great landscape photographers that RULE NUMBER ONE is: GET OUT THERE! Composition, tripod, exposure blending etc... it all cames after that. 

(short version, text deleted here)

Short version is that I went to the Veluwe in The Netherlands including a visit to a special forest with "Dancing Trees" now that I am really into trees. In this short version I will skip the planning phase and go straight to gear and the results...

Gear!

I went a little over the top here because I'm a guy who likes to be prepared.. In my defence, it is more about using similar gear for similar hikes, such that it is easy (just pack it all!). Below is the stuff:

 Shown in the photo:

• Backpack (38 lts, Osprey Kestel)
• Tripod, attached to backpack (compact aluminium Manfrotto tripod with ballhead and ReallyRightStuff Arca plate with quick lever)
• Pouch to put camera gear in (ICU Shallow Small from F-Stop)
• Camera sholder bag  
• Fuji X-T1 body with XF 18-55mm
• Extra lenses: Fujinon XF 10-20mm, XF 55-200mm
• Filters and rings: Circlar Polariser, (B+W) ND 10 stopper (Hoya Pro 1000), step-down rings for all my lenses. My filters are in size 77mm
• Peak Design camera strap
• Mini tripod with iphone holder
• Rain cover for camera/lens with openings for lens and operation
• Garmin GPSMap 64s
• Compression sack with extra clothes (waterproof compressed and uncluttered storage of my clothes in my backpack)
• Rain coat
• Hat
• Fleece scarf
• Thin gloves (can operate the camera wearing them)
• Head light, flash light
• Pocket knife
• Battery charge for phone
• Batteries for GPS
• Rain pants
• Musli bars
• Toilet paper
• Book

Not shown in the photo: 

• Camel bag for water (goes into the backpack in a special compartment. One of the reasons I like to take the backpack: I'm sorted for water and energy for the day no matter how much I decide to walk) 
• Hiking boots
• Rain boots (for the really wet days, else they stay in the car) 
• Good clothes (thermo layer, middle layer, wind/rain proof layer) 
• iPhone, charger, earplugs  

 (I stayed in a hotel so no need for camping gear :-)

Early results

It worked out really well and I got lucky with some sunshine in the mornings and very little rain. I show some results below and will follow with another post with the really good stuff! I hope this may help you on planning your landscape or nature photo outings, and as I mentioned, there is very little holding you back if you plan it near your home and don’t mind the weather.

Forest and heath, covered in the fog (or is it rain?) [Fuji X-T1, XF 55-200mm, 128mm, f/11, 1/8sec, ISO200]

This goes to show that camera gear is not that important (captured with iPhone). Makes you wonder what the iPhone X with RAW files coud do... 

Long paths through an old beach forrest in the morning. Signs are clear: this is toward the very end of autumn. [Fuji X-T1, XF 18-55mm, 29mm, f/8, 1/125sec, ISO1600] 

To finish off, a sunny-looking photo. Goes to show that even on the last day of November there are still wonderful colours in the forest to explore, find and capture (and share). [Fuji X-T1, XF 18-55mm, 18mm, f/11, 1/4sec, ISO200]  Cheerio!