Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive

This image was taken looking down a hill between stops #8 and #9/10 on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. To get there, I recommend taking a car and following the GPS to get to the exact spot where I stood. By Car: - Take M22 north out of Empire for two miles - Turn left onto M109 and travel for 1.3 miles - Follow the signs indicating the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive on the left side of the road - Follow the drive for 3.8 miles

The coastal areas, like the Scenic Drive, don't experience fall color change until the rest of the areas have lost their leaves. Some years this can be late October and other years it's early November. The drive will be the most colorful at the very end of autumn — a week or so past peak fall for the rest of northern Michigan.

For similar lighting, visit this during mid-day for rich fall colors. The hues in this image are largely due to the leaves being wet, and not in direct light. Any visit to the park on a wet day with flat light will result in similar conditions.

Please watch for cyclists, as the drive entrance crosses a much-used bike trail.

Consider standing in the road (watch out for cars!) and position the curb and paint lines at the bottom corners of your shot for strong leading lines.

The dark cedars on the right obey the rules of thirds and they balance the rest of the warm colors in the shot, so make sure to incorporate them into your composition.

Shooting at a 70mm focal length with an f/10 aperture will result in a sharp focus across the scene; the softness is a result of a slower shutter and post-processing.

Be sure to turn your polarizer on so that it cuts any glare from the road.

Take in all of the stops on the Scenic Drive and give the Dune Climb — just north on M109 — a shot.

Grab a Fat Toad Latte at Grocer's Daughter Chocolates in Empire and then check out Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor.