During the two weeks we were in Indiana this fall, we witnessed how fleeting the beauty of fall color can be.
Fleeting, Graying Fall
These images were made from the back balcony of our cabin one rainy, misty day. When we first arrived, those bare trees had leaves and the tree on the left was nearly all green with only slight color beginning to show at the extremities of one branch.
Rainy Gray, Fall DayCreeping GrayPeak, Past Peak, GoneRainy Day WoodsMisty Morning
Astute observers will note that these images are all of the same general scene with various compositions. The light rain, wetting the scene, brought out the color in the gray tree trunks, bare limbs and foliage, while at the same time muting the more distant trees.
I’m sure I’ve said this before, but here it is again: Backroads are often the best way to find uncommon beauty. Or maybe that should be common beauty, since it is all around us, but maybe taken for granted.
Stones Not RollingShorts and TallsForest FeetDown into the ForestFall Layers – Gamboge, Green and RussetIntertwined – Vine WeaveMossy ForkVine MessengersTreelinePink FallPortal
Is this a natural scar or a portal into another world? If a portal, would the other world be weirder than our’s today?
Traveling an Indiana backroad I saw a group of old, rustic farm structures in various stages of structural failure. The roadway was narrow. Parking alongside the roadway and photographing from the roadway would not be satisfactory nor very safe. There was only one house nearby, so I stopped and knocked on the door. A lady with her hair in curlers opened the door and I briefly explained why I was there, asking if it would be ok for me to photography those old structures. She quickly said she was sure it would be ok, although, I’m rather sure she was not the owner, but maybe others have asked her this same question.
There was a short grassy, dirt road at the old buildings. I parked on that dirt road, just off of the pavement far enough for safety and proceeded to walk around the area photographing the buildings from various angles.
StackedGathering Grass – Monochrome with Selective Colorization
A rolling stone may gather no moss, but a stationary wheel can gather grass.
RelaxedIndiana Farm ShedsFall LoungeSupport3160
I lived in a house with this same number many years ago.
Wet, Rusty, Tin RoofFull Tilt FallLog BarnColorful Fall Hillside
After photographing the rustic farm building, I continued to meander around the backroads looking for other fall photographic opportunities. This final photo is a teaser for the next post.
To find places to get out into nature and find prospective places for outdoor photography, I frequently look at maps, either paper maps or digital maps with satellite views. Using this method I found that the Yellowwood State Forest was only a few miles from the cabin, where we were staying. So I had to take time to explore that area.
There is a sizable lake in Yellowwood State Forest with a trail that goes around the lake. The first part of the trail beginning at a parking lot was not of great interest. It was sandwiched between the lake and a roadway for maybe a half mile before it began to depart from the roadway at the end of the lake.
Near where the trail turned away from the roadway, I found an old dead tree that looked like a good photography subject.
A dead tree in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.
On the opposite side of the lake from the parking area, a branch went away from the lake; but I continued along the trail that followed the lake shoreline. The trail became more scenic there with the lake on one side and deeper woods on the other side.
Big Leaf. Yellowwood State Forest, IndianaHiking Trail in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana
It was a little early in the afternoon for the best light for outdoor photography, so including any portion of the sky produced unpleasant results and I did not try to use any filters, while shooting handheld. I posted a cropped version of the hiking trail image (above) on Flickr. I think you will agree that taking out the sky improved this image.
Four Left Turns. Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.
I found the growth pattern of the vine in the above photo interesting. Why did it make those right angle turns? It eventually went up the tree in the normal direction. Maybe it got its directions from Apple Maps.
I began to look for ways to exclude the sky from my compositions. Sometimes portions of the sky were necessary to get the desired parts of the landscape into my compositions with my lens of choice, then I cropped the sky out in post processing.
Fall in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana
There is also a cropped version, isolating the back lit leaves on the forest floor, of the image above on Flickr.
Fall in Yellowwood State Forest, IndianaA red leaf in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.A Toadstool in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.
The toadstool image here is a cropped version of one that is posted to Flickr. I thought that there were distracting parts of the original image, so I severely cropped it; but I actually still prefer the original version.
Fall in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana
Back lighted leaf and shadows, Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.Pink leaves of fall, Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana
The portions of my images from this trip that include the upper parts of the larger, more mature trees, show the lack of foliage on them. This would have been a much more successful visit for outdoor fall photography had I been here a few days earlier; but that is the gamble one makes, with long range planning. One has to adapt and being outdoors in natural surroundings is always a joy.
I left Ogle Lake and drove back towards the main roadway. I stopped at a pull out before getting to the main route and walked along the roadway to shoot more just off the road. As I walked beside the road I came to a trail, so I decided to take a short walk along the trail.
Hiking Trail in Brown County State Park, Indiana
The trail was covered with fallen leaves along much of the route that I walked. The trail is just barely discernible in the lower left of the image above.
Fall in Brown County State Park, IndianaYellow Leaf and Moss on an old log, Brown County State Park, IndianaLeaf and Fungi on an old log, Brown County State Park, IndianaBrown County State Park, Indiana
It was mostly overcast on this day. The dullness of the sky in the background gives the images too much of a fuzzy look for my taste; but it was what I was given today.
Brown County State Park, IndianaBrown County State Park, Indiana
My short walk along the trail turned into a longer hike than I had planned. The trail meandered through the forest with frequent changes in direction, eventually following high above a ravine. The trail followed the ravine for quite a way, then crossed the ravine, then went along side the ravine in the opposite direction. I eventually came to a junction in the trail near a park roadway. I walked out of the woods to the road. I did not know which road I was on, but I knew the direction I needed to go to find my vehicle. I walked the roadway to a junction, which turned out to be the route to Ogle Lake. I only had to walk a short distance along the road towards Ogle Lake to my vehicle.
On my way out of the park I stopped to shoot at an overlook.
Brown County State Park, IndianaBrown County State Park, Indiana
After stoping at a number of pull outs along the main roadway in Brown County State Park, I continued to Ogle Lake and hiked the loop trail that goes around the lake.
At the end of the lake nearest the parking lot, I went off the trail down to the waters edge to get this image:
Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana
I walked along the edge of the lake towards the north until I got back to the official trail, where I stopped to photograph reflections in the lake.
Fall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana
There were not many others here today, so it was not difficult to keep a safe distance from others and I only had to standby occasionally to let others clear out of my compositions.
Brown County State Park, IndianaBrown County State Park, Indiana
At least a couple of hikers asked what I was photographing. The first to ask seemed to think that there must be something special that was not apparent along the trail to photograph. The second was a photographer with a long lens. He was photographing birds and thought I must be doing the same. I guess we all have our own thoughts about what is worthy of photographing.
Brown County State Park, IndianaBrown County State Park, Indiana
As I rounded the end of the lake and began to hike along the south side, I noted some very nice reflections on north side of the lake.
Fall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State ParkFall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, IndianaFall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, IndianaFall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park
The reflections in the lake seemed to me to be the best images that I’ve gotten so far and I struggled to make interesting compositions for the rest of the hike.
Brown County State Park, IndianaBrown County State Park, IndianaGrafiti Tree, Brown County State Park, Indiana
I visited Brown County State Park on the second day of our Fall of 2020 visit to Indiana, where I photographed near a number of pull outs along roadways through the park and while hiking a couple of trails in the park.
This post will consist of the photos made near the roadway.
Dew Drops and Grass, Brown County State Park, IndianaIndiana Fall, Brown County State ParkBrown County State Park, IndianaBig Fall Leaves, Brown County State Park, IndianaAutumn Gold, Brown County State Park, IndianaYellow and Green, Brown County State Park, IndianaA Trio of Fall Maple Leaves, Brown County State Park, Indiana
By the time this final post, covering my fall visit to the Rio Grande National Forest, is published it will be late spring of 2021. It would have been good to have been able to publish all of the fall photographs in the fall, but it takes time to review and edit so many photographs and there are always other trips, events and personal matters that delay getting posts prepared.
Maybe I should take fewer photographs? But photography of natural places is my hobby and I get to do too little of it as is, so I will continue to make as many photos like these as often as I can get away to do so.
Fall Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 3200.Red and Green Leaf on Log. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 3200.
Dark Red. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 3200.Fall Forest Roadway. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/500s, f/11, ISO 3200.Leaf on Log. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 3200.Leaves and Moss on Stump. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 3200.Leaves and Stump. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/80s, f/11, ISO 3200.Trapped. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 6400.
I’ll finish with a final photograph that I think is appropriate for wrapping up this trip.
The heart shaped scar on this tree appears to be natural and not one of the many carved ones that I encountered.
As soon as I publish this, I will begin preparations for another trip to begin in a few days. I have much to do and still have to select a primary destination. Maybe by next year, I will even be posting photos from that trip. (I still have other events in the queue to work through before getting to anything new)!
