Autumn in a new light

autumn ferns

My continuing effort to see fall foliage with fresh eyes started right under my writing table window this morning. I love the way each fern frond turns color and curls at its own speed. (Click here for a closer view.)

red oak leaves

Half-way up Laurel Ridge, I was struck by the abundant skylights in these red oak leaves.

power lines

The air was very clear, but clouds never stopped going over, so it was a day of sun and shadows. Rather than try to take a typical panorama shot of Sinking Valley from the top of the powerline right-of-way, I decided to work the powerlines into the composition.

(I’m always fascinated by the lone trees left by farmers who otherwise have taken out all the hedgerows they can. Why were these particular trees spared?)

lowbush blueberry leaves

I love the rich reds of lowbush blueberry and huckleberry leaves. I’ve captured them with the sun shining through them and with snow on them, so I wasn’t expecting any fresh takes today… until I spotted the above log.

autumn sky

And oh yeah, this is a great year for classic fall foliage shots, too. For once, the oaks didn’t didn’t disappoint. I kept looking up at the sky, though — especially once the vultures started to appear.

Plummer's Hollow in the rear-view mirror

I had to run some errands this afternoon. The beeches in the hollow are at their height of color (or maybe a little past) and the sun was at just the right angle to illuminate them. I kept stopping the car to look behind me.

boxcar

I had to wait for an east-bound freight at the bottom of the mountain. Even the graffitied boxcars looked autumnal.

5 Replies to “Autumn in a new light”

  1. Lovely capture of all those colors. Living in Northern California I only get a smattering of fall colors to take in. Nearly a quarter century of living here, but I still miss fall in its full colors.

  2. It’s so difficult to find “fresh eyes” when we’ve been taking photos of the same stuff for a long time — but you’ve done it here. I was so intoxicated by city sights when we moved here, and yet that vision has already faded. Now it takes a conscious movement of the heart and mind to go out with the camera and really see. What we need, I think, is change every now and then, and the desire to show others what’s we see, what moves us…

    1. Thanks. Yes. And perhaps patience, which I tend to lack, as well as a telephoto lens or two. I could stand to focus a lot more on wildlife photography. (Just half an hour ago, a deer tromped through my front garden, right past the pink flamingo. If only I’d had a camera at the ready!)

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