Dear Stay Focussed reader!

Welcome to November's newsletter. The leaves are certainly falling from the trees here, and that means plenty of colour around for us photographers!

Rather than do the usual autumn photos - collage of leaves, rolling hills carpeted in autumnal shades ... - I thought what else could we try.

And I remembered something we used to do years ago - freeze something in ice cube trays and then take them out and photograph them.

Taking the idea a step further I collected some leaves and froze them in about an inch of water in a tupperware container.

Once frozen I popped them out and photographed the ice block (with the leaves frozen inside) on the kitchen table using a good flashgun on my camera.

Personally I liked the shot, but as my wife pointed out to me, there is another option here too - close up on a leaf showing frozen bubbles.

The other photo here is exactly that.

I think either of these work well, and are definitely a break from the normal autumn photos.

Plus, if you have children, this can keep them occupied too!

First they're kept busy collecting the leaves, then they love the whole freezing-in-a-tupperware tub thing, and finally they love taking the photos!

All the best, and see you next month,

Darrell.