Tom and I celebrate great photos from photographers on our workshops by selecting a Photo of the Month. For October we chose an image from our Acadia Fall Colors Workshop. The image was taken by Kimberly Shadduck near the Duck Brook Bridge in Acadia National Park. Kimberly is a nature and vintage car photographer from Chicago. You can view her other work here.
Congratulations to October 2026 ‘s featured photographer – Kimberly Shadduck
The Story…
Tom laid out the lay of the land. He pointed to different directions we could go. People started to move away. I ventured into the first area that Tom spoke about and took a few shoots. I came back to the first area and everyone was already gone.
I could hear a slight waterfall below the bridge. Fifty feet below there was an older man near the water. There were no stairs and I could not figure out how he got down there. He started walking up the hill using his tripod as a walking stick. I asked and he said coming up the hill was easier than going down.
I went for it. I had just bought ND filters by NiSi and I really wanted to use them. I baby stepped down to the waterfall carefully.
I decided to use the 6 stop magnetic ND filter. I took a few photos at 60 seconds and then turned around. The view behind me was even prettier. I wanted as much of the scene as I could get, so I shot at 14mm. The leaves on the rocks were right at my feet.
I hardly did anything to this image in post process. The color just looked like that. It was really fantastic.
October 2026 Photo of the Month
EXIF Data:
Camera: Nikon Z8
Lens: Nikon 14-24mm
Aperture: f16
Shutter: 60 seconds
ISO: 64
Manual Mode
Filter: 6 stop ND
About Photographing in Acadia National Park
Acadia was absolutely stunning. This is a place where I will go back on my own. I will make an effort for Acadia. The photos that I posted on Facebook had over 2300 likes. This is the most I have ever had. People just loved the colors.
Even in the rain there is opportunity. I loved the scene at Duck Brook in light mist. When Tom threw the leaves in the water he was very playful. He helped create the image. It was moody in the fog. It felt like fall.
Walking around in the rain in Bernard, there were all these little vignettes. There was so much to shoot even in the rain. I took several photos of the vintage car with illuminated by speed light. The colors really glow in the rain. It was helpful to have different atmospherics.
Kimberly’s Tips for Photographing Fall Foliage
1) It was all about the color. It was all just right there. The reds, yellows and oranges were just screaming, waiting for us. That is what I love to shoot. We lucked out. It was a magnificent year for color. We could not go wrong. Timing is everything in Acadia.
2) Move around a lot. Don’t get stuck in one spot.
3) Use trial and error. Tom recommended shooting sunlight behind the leaves. I needed to slow down and try things by myself. I need to be by myself and take the time to experiment. Time does not matter when I am out shooting.
4) I like being on workshops because the leaders point out new technique to try and then give us the time to do it. At Bubble Rocks, I had no idea how to shoot it. Cree made a suggestion and I tried it. The results turned out so cool.
On Kimberly’s Horizon:
Florida for the winter
Czech Republic
Upcoming Events: Bol Holiday Gift Guide – Tuesday, November 24 at 6 pm Denver time. Tom and Cree share their top recommendations for Gifts for Photographers for the holiday season. Send us a note here for the link
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Also, One spot left for Patagonia 2026
Thanks for reading our Photographer Features!
Tom and Cree
