Autumn Road Trip

The forecast looked dreary - the next 4-5 days would bring clouds laden with rain and gusty winds. And autumn colours don't wait for the perfect weather forecast. Not only would the light be dreary, the wind would hasten the undressing of the trees.

I've learned through the years that in photography 'carpe diem' is a motto to live by. So, equipment in car and off on a road trip to see what effect autumn had had on areas I'd made mental notes to re-visit when I saw them in summer. I wasn't disappointed - here's a small sample of the hundred and some-odd scenes I captured.

(For some music to put you in that autumn mood, click on the link below).

A return to déjà vu

I've been keeping an eye on this spot. I've driven by it many times over the years and this year I wanted to make sure I captured it before it faded away into the barrenness of winter. I captured this scene about 5 years ago and was fortunate to have it featured on Scott Law's blog (if you haven't seen his work you should).

I'm completely in agreement with Lee Maynard: "I loved autumn, the one season of the year that God seemed to have put there just for the beauty of it." [Lee Maynard]

And to describe this season I find it best to leave it up to the poets:
No Spring nor Summer Beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one Autumnal face. [John Donne]

Downtown

Now I'll be the first to admit that I'm more of a country boy than a city slicker. I'm happy that so many people love living in the city since it keeps the countryside uncrowded (although I realize some are there only because that's where the jobs are, mostly). However, I don't mind taking the occasional trip in to see the sights.

A few days ago we packed up Sasha and the wagon (I'll have to let you see that soon) and headed for a stroll through a small piece of historic Fort Myers (winter home of Thomas Edison). If you're up for a little nostalgia, listen along to Petula (link below the last photo) while you walk with us ...

An autumn evening

I couldn't conjure up appropriate words for this evening's display, so I turned to the muse.


An Autumn Evening

Dark hills against a hollow crocus sky
Scarfed with its crimson pennons, and below
The dome of sunset long, hushed valleys lie
Cradling the twilight, where the lone winds blow
And wake among the harps of leafless trees
Fantastic runes and mournful melodies.

The chilly purple air is threaded through
With silver from the rising moon afar,
And from a gulf of clear, unfathomed blue
In the southwest glimmers a great gold star
Above the darkening druid glens of fir
Where beckoning boughs and elfin voices stir.

And so I wander through the shadows still,
And look and listen with a rapt delight,
Pausing again and yet again at will
To drink the elusive beauty of the night,
Until my soul is filled, as some deep cup,
That with divine enchantment is brimmed up.

[Lucy Maud Montgomery  1874 - 1942  author of Anne of Green Gables]

Reflecting on autumn

"I loved autumn, the one season of the year that God seemed to have put there just for the beauty of it." [Lee Maynard]

“No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.” [John Donne]

“There is something incredibly nostalgic and significant about the annual cascade of autumn leaves.”  [Joe L. Wheeler]

“Time remorselessly rambles down the corridors and streets of our lives, but it is not until autumn that most of us become aware that our tickets are stamped with a terminal destination.” [Joe L. Wheeler]

Open up your heart - let the Son shine in

When the cares of the world weigh you down, it's hard to be optimistic. But listen to the song in the link below the last photo - it's a little video I put together - and imagine the 5th Dimension singing about the Son (as found in Revelation 7:9-17, and especially v.15-17). And join me on my stroll continued from last week through a little part of creation, when the sun came out.

Have a blessed Sunday.

First steps

There's learning by reading and there's learning by trying. I've done a bit of both to start figuring out all the buttons and menu items on the new 5D. Today's lesson was on shooting stills - starting with first steps on the AF system. Centre AF point for now - will leave the other 60 for another day.

Since the EF-S series of lenses aren't compatible with Canon's full frame sensor cameras, I bought a 'nifty fifty' (EF 50mm f1.8) lens for 2 reasons - (1) reviewers gave it high marks, (2) it cost $94. I stepped 10' out the back door and found some willing subjects. I wasn't looking for challenging subjects - that's the camera's role for now. The 4 shots below are SOOC.

Since the 50mm has neither macro nor zoom capability, I cropped each of the 2 photos (#2,4) to simulate a close-up shot (#1,3). Lesson 1 completed - I was happy with the colour, focusing, and sharpness.

on tripod  f5.6  1/160 sec  ISO160 (cropped)

 hand held  f5.0  1/400 sec  ISO160 (cropped)

October's Party

"October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came -
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band."
 
     [George Cooper, October's Party]

I trust you're not tired of autumn quite yet. Why not take a moment out of your day (since you're here anyway) and listen to one of my favourite singers (click on the link below the photos). Then walk along these country roads with me and marvel at the Creator's handiwork.

Emblems of Autumn

An Autumn Thought
  by: Albert Laighton (1829-1887)
   
They're speeding on--the weary winter hours;
These are thy emblems, thou departing year:
The falling leaves, the fading of the flowers
Laid by fond Autumn on the Summer's bier.

Soon will the song of lingering birds be still,
The streamlets lose the music of their tone;
For hid with pallid brow behind the hill,
stern Winter waits to mount his glittering throne.

Well, let the flowers decay, the dead leaves fall;
Hushed be the birds, and stilled the streamlet's flow;
Let hoary Winter cast a blight o'er all,
And bind his withered brow with wreaths of snow.

We know that May will come, and glad rills play,
And flowers along their emerald borders bloom;
Though our next spring-time may lie far away
In some fair clime of light beyond the tomb.


Autumn is creeping in, we've had frost several times, and the wood stove has banished the chill from our home. temporarily. Here's what autumn is starting to look like in our neck of the woods.

Osmosis

I was awakened prematurely this morning by my wife who told me that I had to get up and see a beautiful sunrise (thank goodness we're in the middle of the winter when the sun rises at what I consider to be a more 'normal' hour). As I jumped into my clothes she reminded me that I had requested her to wake me the next time there was a gorgeous sunrise. She had even brought the camera up with her.

I made some shots out of an upstairs window and then went down and stepped out onto the front porch, sans winter coat, into the -21C / -6F early morning. Within a few minutes I realized further shots would suffer from severe camera shake brought on by hypothermia. So inside I dashed for a coat and toque. I stayed out to get more shots until my fingers were so numb I couldn't operate the camera any longer.

I've never impressed on my wife any of the unwritten rules of photography e.g. carpe diem (see #2 here) but I think the 'learning by osmosis' concept has been at work in our home. She had already made a number of shots of the sunrise in its early stages whilst I was still lost somewhere in dreamland.

Here's a bit of the sequence we were privileged to witness and capture this morning. I hope your new year is off to a similarly auspicious start.

(if patience is truly a virtue then I'm in line to be a saint - this 'only' took 4 hours to post. Starting next week, I hope to be blogging at the speed of light, relatively speaking)

click on photos for a better view

On the road again ...

I'm quite fond of driving and don't find it a daunting task to spend a couple of days on the road. I'm the one behind the wheel on our road trips because (according to my wife) I make a bad passenger. I consider a road trip successful if it's uneventful i.e. no traffic surprises, no weather surprises, and no bedbugs ! And I'm always thankful that our guardian angel flies as fast as we do.

We were again blessed with beautiful fall scenery as we travelled south through the country from New York State to Florida. Here and there my trusty Canon was able to slow (most of) the pixels down from 120kph / 75mph to give you a glimpse.

(I used an 18-55mm lens, kept the aperture at f5.6 and ISO at 200 with various shutter speeds)