Therapeutic Walk Before Sun Sets

Who is Spying on who? Is this a budding fellow photographer?

                                                                           Sorry, it was just too tempting!

          Somewhat late in the day the sun shyly arrives, and I collect my camera, and head out towards the path that skirts the nearby church; the sun brings out the variety of colours that abound at this time of transition. Leaves show both ends of the season’s colours; the russet golds of leaves falling, fallen, and temporarily caught before their final landing, to carpet the grass beneath, and the lush green of shoots that hope to survive the coming frosts.

          I capture also, the lush yellow of lichen and the varied structures of the coming season’s seed forms, and upturned leaves that more clearly define their veined structures that barely show when viewed from above. Beyond the denuded branches, the clouds display their forms, and on the water form a backdrop to branches reflected on the surface of the stream in the deeply cut field boundary to save the fields from flooding. Occasionally, shafts of gold penetrate gaps in the boundary trees to highlight the richness of a nearby tree as the sun gets ever lower, and the clouds themselves are also edged in gold as the sun finally dips below the horizon, and beyond the nearby rooves. 

          I am doing my best to catch up on some of the individual trips I have made in recent days, but other pressures have meant that there are several trips I have made with pictures taken, but have yet to be processed as other pressures have prevailed. However I can take some comfort that despite the dearth of new images reaching the blog, the readers’ viewing figures have remained high, and seemingly visitors have in some instances ventured beyond the present page to view shots taken back in August. I wonder whether that came about by using the Search box and entering subjects of specific interest, or whether some reached the bottom of the initial screen then decided to venture even earlier.

          I have taken some pictures that have yet to be processed, but I am hoping that they will see the light of day soon and I apologise if the subjects feel neglected, it just seemed easier to deal with some later shots that were nearer the surface.

Autumn Woodland Stroll

          The sun beckoned me out from where I had parked my car close by a Vauxhall Car Showroom; a handy spot from where to cross the busy main road, and enter a park. One of the beauties of sunlight when photographing leaves is that when leaves are backlit, the internal structures are revealed, adding interest to even the most mundane of leaves. So it was hardly surprising that seeing sunlight streaming in from the direction my camera was facing, rather than over my left shoulder, it would feature such an image so early in my walk. Nevertheless, strongly textured leaves soon became the focus of my attention in the seasonally natural hues of dark green and red.
          Against such a backdrop, I then sighted a Shield bug, making its lethargic way around the handily, rippled textures of the leaf. The combination of sunlight and the season’s varied and rich colours always appeal, as do the dark gold of dying leaves due to drop from their stem when the wind breaks their grip.
          It is interesting to note that when I am spotted aiming my camera’s lens close to something of interest to me, and almost right on top of my subject, passers-by are often sufficiently puzzled to enquire just what it might be that I am looking at? This breaks down any reticence they might feel normally, about asking me what has caught my interest? I cannot be sure in this instance whether this was the case, but one of the next shots I took was of a couple of well covered, happy people who engaged me in brief conversation. If they spot this image I hope they were pleased with the outcome.
          I continued walking close by the trees to spot further subjects for the camera and was alerted by the loud and obviously happy chirping of an immaculately groomed Robin generously providing me with differing backgrounds for the shots! Up till then, I had not taken much note of the sky and it’s few clouds, but I took a quick shot before going back to closer subjects of tree trunk textures and leaves, and leave you with an ivy-clad tree ‘giving me the bird’!