what is best time of day (lighting-wise) for foliage pics?

[CrazyModGSR]

I am going out all day tomorrow to various locations for some foliage photography (autumn leaves). I was wondering what is the best time of the day for taking pictures? I know sun directly overhead is not good, and I noticed that slightly overcast skies, or sun behind the clouds creates pretty decent lighting, but I was wondering what is ideal, where the colors in the leaves will be brought out the most, etc.
Thanks much

 

[ksmattfish]

Overcast days provide diffuse lighting. Sunny days provide specular lighting. Each has it's look, and it's just up to you which you prefer. I like bright red maple leaves against dark blue skies, so I like to shoot fall foliage on sunny days. Then again, wet, colorful leaves look great too, so I go out on rainy days also.

Direct sun provides the most color saturation, provided you are using a polarizing filter. A polarizing filter should also be used on an overcast day, although the actual effect through the viewfinder may appear minimal, it's quite noticable in the final images when comparing a shot taken with a pol vs without a pol filter.

The lower the sun is in the sky (early or late in the day) the warmer the light will be.

 

[Sharkbait]

Personally I like early morning sunlight for autumn shots. The harsher lighting at a sharp angle really makes the colors pop. Here are a couple examples...

 

[mentos_007]

I like evening, at about 6 pm it is very nice for me

 

[CrazyModGSR]

well, just got back. was out for about 7 hours, went to about 4 different locations along with stops along the way. foliage wasn't quite turned all the way yet, maybe half, so I'll have to go out next week too. will post (if I can get my scanner working again) when I get the pics