Chasing Colour: The Magic of Autumn Landscapes
As October 2024 fades, I find myself reflecting on the timeless workplace question: “What’s your favorite season?” My answer is always autumn.
Autumn. Fall. The season of harvest.
I can only assume autumn is known by this epithet mainly because it’s when many landscape photographers capture beautiful images.
‘An unbroken peace’
It may surprise you to hear that it’s not a love for pumpkins or unreasonably priced pumpkin-flavored coffee, nor am I a fan of Halloween.
My Halloween costume is the same every year: “Man pretending not to be home.” In all seriousness, what really draws me to autumn is something simpler—the vibrant colours.
‘Autumn’s embrace’
Half of the year’s seasons share a similar colour palette. Winter brings browns, with occasional whites and pale blues. Summer? It’s so green it could make the Hulk blush. Spring gets a pass with its pops of colour from new flowers.
But autumn? Autumn is a kaleidoscope—the yellows, reds, greens, and everything in between.
Light seems to partially pass through the leaves, backlighting them and making the differences in colours more pronounced. Forest canopies become works of art unto themselves. The final days and weeks of leaves that were lush green mere weeks ago now turn shades of brown, orange, and yellow, with a few hardier green leaves remaining, making the once-mundane cliff face below a far more appealing view. But this is only the beginning.
‘Autumnal face’
However, don’t get too distracted by the canopies above. It’s best to follow the advice of Auntie Mabel and Pippin the dog from Come Outside—look up, look down, look all around. But why? Well, I’ll show you.
‘Between the trees’
Sometimes the leaves from trees create a carpet of red leading down the scene to a beautiful waterfall.
The best part is, it’s not just the trees getting all fired up (which, thankfully, isn’t literal for the wood!). Many bushes and low-lying plants change, too. The shot below, Fiery Ferns, taken in early October this year, perfectly captures this transformation. The ferns have shifted from their usual green to vibrant shades of yellow and red.
‘Fiery ferns’
The yearly “great dying” of flora creates an explosion of colour everywhere.
In short, autumn makes for unforgettable photos.
