When most people think of fall colors, red, orange and yellow leaves on trees comes to mind. What about flowers? Do all flowers just fade away and go to seed? Autumn color isn’t always leaves.

About a month ago my limelight hydrangeas started showing signs of pink petals. A sure sign that autumn color was starting. The view from my kitchen window late in the afternoon, during golden hour was beautiful. The limelight hydrangea tree planted intentionally in full view of my kitchen window, was stunning. Each day I kept telling myself to grab my camera and go outside and make some images. Finally one Sunday I told myself to get outside before missing the beautiful different shades of pinks on the delicate petals. The golden light in autumn is so warm and soft here in southeast Iowa making the shades of pink really pop.

Using only nature light, I was able to make several images. Moving around the tree made it possible to have sidelight, backlight and even full shade. There are three limelight hydrangea bushes in my front yard too and a few of the flowers still had pink petals. Some of the flowers had already lost all color due to some cold nights. The top of one flower still had creamy petals that were backlit during the golden hour and looked as if they were being kissed by the sun.

With a strong sidelight, you can darken the background and show off your subject as in the photo below.

The warm golden hour light amplified the autumn color of the petals. Some of the petals were past peak color, creating more warm color.

At times the clouds moved in creating a natural diffuser and I took advantage of the soft even light.

My favorite image was even light on the hydrangea flower and the background lit by the warm late afternoon light.

Do you ever notice autumn color of flowers? Do you notice that autumn color isn’t always leaves?