Worth the wait- fall colors photography

Nikon D3100
Nikkor 18.0-55.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 at  18 mm
ISO 180, f/11, 1/30

Since the fall colors started showing up in my town I have been waiting for a cloudy day. That's correct, a cloudy, overcast day: it is not easy, if it is possible at all, to take a good photo of fall colors when the sun is shinning, at least for me. The high dynamic range created by the sun reflected by the leaves and the shades of parts of the trees make up for overexposed parts and an ugly, uneven look.

There is a ginkgo tree in the nearby arboretum that is famous for its intense colors and the carpet of leaves when the leaves start to fall. Last past two years I missed the opportunity to capture the show. Last year, particularly, there was a wind storm right after thanksgiving, when the tree was at its peak, and that blew all the leaves away.

Yesterday, when I woke up and went running, and it was overcast, I knew it was the day. I had been following the condition of the tree for quite a while, and I knew it was going to be beautiful.

This photo on the left was taken with the tripod and timed shutter release. I used aperture priority to set a relatively narrow aperture and focused on the bench. As a result, there is good focus from the foreground to the background. A little color fringing around the dark parts is noticeable only at 200%.

The person seating on the bench is myself. I took a few other pictures from different angles, and I am satisfied with the results.