Autumn

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Perfect Imperfection…

Locust leaves, on ice…

When photographing Nature, I believe that some photographers (yes, including me) overlook or ignore gifts from Nature that are less than perfect.  If a flower was missing a petal, or part of it had been food for insects, we keep going and look for a perfect specimen.

But Nature is not perfect.  In the mix of wind and rain, sun and heat, growth and life, very few of Nature’s gems remain whole or without damage…

A few weeks ago, I found this small locust tree branch in a small puddle of water, frozen.  What stopped me was seeing first that some of the leaves were partially consumed by insects or caterpillars, but then I noticed the pastel colors, and the one magenta leaf detached and apart from the branch, also frozen in the same puddle.

It was still beautiful, I thought, despite the age and wear.  Nature had placed it there for me to find, so I could see the story of its brief existence, its natural beauty.  I photographed the leaves and the ice and spent a few moments just looking.  And I still think of the little branch and its lesson today.

Here is another image, this one of a single leaf, which if we saw hanging on the tree, or on the ground, we would pass by. But, with a little help from the sun, the leaf seems more alive with beautiful rim-light, and the reddish-brown patches glow, and one of the holes in the leaf lets the sun make its own statement…

A phrase we nature photographers hear often, and just as often repeat, is “just slow down”. When we do slow down, and look, there is so much more to see.

Slow down. Look. Prepare to be astonished!

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The 2017 Annual Ten
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The 2017 Annual Ten

Once again, it is time to review the photographs made this year, and select my favorites.  We have been doing this for the past several years, and I look forward to it every year.  This year, I started with over 50 photos, and after making several passes through the collection, and making some tough decisions, I selected the 10 photographs that gave me the most joy and satisfaction when I made them, and continue to do so now.  Here are my Favorites for 2017, in roughly chronological order… Continue reading →

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Fort Smith Park Autumn

After record breaking heat in the summer of 2011, many of us, including me, did not expect much in the way of “color” in the fall.  However, we were pleasantly surprised and had a very colorful fall – one of my favorite seasons.

Autumn in Arkansas and Oklahoma is brief, and each year brings a different look.  Occasionally, as in 2009, we’ve had an unusually wet fall, giving us water falls, and flowing streams to complement the color.  But, more often, it’s a relatively dry season.  It’s a time of change, and a photographer is challenged to be at the right place at the right time to make an image to represent the season.

On this morning, I was driving to work, but had left home early enough to stop if I saw the right scene, in pleasant light.  Here’s one image I stopped to make.  Initially, I pointed my camera toward the just-risen sun, but that wasn’t the image I wanted.  So, I turned around, and saw the clouds, the sky, the yellow leaves, and the tree line.

What you see here, was shot as a RAW file, cropped slightly to rid the image of a light pole on the right, and some pavement on the left.  Using Corel After Shot Pro, and Corel Paint Shop Pro X4, I’ve adjusted color balance, levels, and sharpness.  Camera was the Sony Alpha 700, with a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 lens.  Exposure was 1/250 sec. at f/5.6, ISO 200.

Fort Smith Park is on Wheeler Avenue, just west of Midland Boulevard in Fort Smith, and includes numerous picnic tables, a boat ramp to the Arkansas River, and is visited by a large number of area residents throughout the year.  It’s an old park, with old trees; a park I often visit for photographs, and I’m seldom disappointed…

Fort Smith Park Autumn

November 2011