Autumn is now just about over, a few reluctant leaves cling to the trees, but the vast majority are grounded. Some rest delicately, easily lifted into the air by the lightest of breezes. Others, wet and limp, hug the ground seemingly glued to it – their flying days over.
This is the last of this series of images from my heads-down perusal of this year’s leaf litter. There have been days when seeking out compositions among the fallen has been easy, and days when I have struggled to make sense of the decaying litter.
Any challenge or project that we set ourselves pays dividends. We discover a new focus for our Eye; we find compositions in places that previously we might have thought were not photogenic; and our creativity is stirred. And we learn something new – we never stop learning on our individual visual journeys. If I was to attempt to single out one thing that I have learnt this autumn, I think it would be that slowing down brings its own rewards. I have been always been an opportunist, alert to my surrounding environment, and quick to shoot. Slowing down has been difficult for me, but it’s a modus operandi that I will practice more in future.
Slowing down does, indeed, bring its own rewards, Andy
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Yes, it does.
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Your prose is as satisfying as the images, Andy. These textures and shimmering tones are beautiful, as are the compositions. You certainly didn’t race by this leaf litter! It shows you used the slow approach. 😉
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Thanks Lynn. A shower of rain helps – leaves that look dead suddenly glisten.
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I’m especially fond of that second photo; the leaves look like tarnished copper. There was a fad in this country some decades ago — in the 1960s, perhaps — of dipping small leaves in copper, silver, or gold, and making necklaces of them. Exactly how it was done, I’m not sure, but I certainly can see these as adornment.
As for slowing down? There’s a song for that, too.
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Ah- Simon and Garfunkel, happy memories of my youth. We had a copper leaf just like you describe except it was life size. I think we might still have it somewhere. There is so much variety in the leaf litter, and rain makes a phenomenal difference. The colours become vibrant. I’ve had a thorough enjoyable Autumn this year.
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