"Autumn was her happiest season. There was an expectancy about it's sounds and shapes: the distant thunk pomp of leather and young bodies on the practice field near her house made her think of bands and cold Coca-Cola, parched peanuts and the sight of people's breath in the air. There was even something to look forward to when school started... renewals of old feuds and friendships, weeks of learning again what one half forgot in the long summer. Fall was hot... supper time with everything to eat one missed in the morning when too sleepy to enjoy it."
~Harper Lee
Go Set A Watchman
Look at that sunset. I took that photo, as the sun was setting over the Altamont Pass, at the end of a very good day. It was December 5th, a beautiful day, that had all of the gifts autumn could possibly provide. We were on our way home from the Bay Area, after a long day out, and I was tired from the day, which is a good thing, but I just had to have that sunset. Spending a day with the camera makes me happy, but spending the day with the camera, and returning home tired from it, makes me ecstatic! It means I saw beauty, and even if I only manage to refill my file only a bit, I am usually happy, because it means I took my time and really put thought into my surroundings.
You would think that would be a given... right? Well, yes and no. Sometimes I just can't break through my own relentless head noise. And sometimes the ambient light looks one way in the car, and another way at curbside or even deep on the rice patties, depending on if I am photographing some curbside art, autumn leaves, or Sandhill Cranes. Photography is never the same twice. You can prep in a general sense, but I can't count the number of times I have packed all my requirement. Light meters. Tripods. Cameras. Headed for a location, only to find that I had to fight some unforeseen circumstance, be it natural or man-made. Self made catastrophes happen too, like forgetting my small wallet that contains extra SD cards. That's happened an embarrassing amount of times. That's the difference between an amateur and pro, I guess. But, even with all of the work, mental and physical, it's worth it, no matter what season we are in!
Every year I photograph somewhere between 100 and 500 autumn leaves. About 91 become, Leaves Of The Day, and the remaining are used in other projects, while some are never featured anywhere. Last year was a really difficult year for my project. I couldn't find much color during autumn, in fact most of it took place during winter of this year. It was such a difficult year I wasn't sure we would get through it, but we did, and I was glad I had saved some leaves back in case. This year was a much different story, and I have decided that beginning this year, I will share as many of the unused leaves as possible, because like the featured ones, they are what the life of the year was about. California lost so many trees in 2020, to wildfires, or drought conditions. Climate Change is affecting and diminishing the color and life of California. It's painful to watch. I don't know what the state will look like in 10 years. It may look more like autumn in upstate New York, which would be amazing, or it could be treeless, I don't know, but one thing is for sure, the state is going through big changes, so the history of autumn 2020 means a lot to me. It is my happiest season.
The Leaves Of Autumn 2020
And Today's Featured Leaf Of The Day
#87
~Carly
Stockton, California
December 17th 2020
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