Leaping into autumn

Click to enlarge

In the US, autumn is known as fall – a word donated to the Americans by the English from their 16^th century dictionary. Most other countries graduated to using autumn, but the Americans, appreciative of the gift, albeit only a word, continue to use fall. Makes sense, in a way, because that’s when trees lose their leaves which fall to the ground. On the other hand, the Americans refer to lorries as trucks, so who’s to know.

Autumn, or fall, is a beautiful time for photography. Characterised by fiery foliage and russet hues, the season is a bright reminder of some of the best artwork mother nature has to offer. A few weeks into the season, the colours are at their best. After that, the leaves turn brown and then fall to the ground.

In my hometown is a copse (another 16^th century English word) of plain trees, planted close together in rows. They are somewhat nondescript in the park, although they do lend shade to visitors on hot days. But in autumn, they come to the party in all their red and golden splendour. I’ve tried to photograph them many times, but whenever I’ve made the effort to do so, something didn’t work out. The light was wrong. A cloud came over and dulled the view. The shadows were too dark.

Earlier this week, I stood in front of them, trying to make a picture happen. A woman and her children walking past, stopped to chat. In such situations, people normally ask, ‘Are you taking photos?’ and I tend to fob them off as quickly as possible. I was building up the courage to ask her if I could photograph her children (often frowned upon, given an older man with a camera) when she said, ‘Would you like to take a picture of my kids?’ You see the result above.

It’s not a great image, photographically speaking, for a variety of technical reasons. But it’s the best image I have depicting autumn. The children tell a story of joy, looked down upon by magnificent, colourful trees whose leaves provided the means to have fun.

I ove it.