Autumn shades

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower - Albert Camus

It's almost midnight, October 19th 2022, somewhere in the northern hemisphere, and at this moment I'm typing on my keyboard, some leaves are falling, some are about to fall, and others still don't want to leave their mother no matter if it's windy or rainy, sooner or later, they have to lose, unfortunately.

For us, we just keep watching this fall slowly happening like the sun disappearing slowly on the ocean's horizon, watching those warm colours fading from light green to dark red.

It takes only some days and this colourful cover wears off and all that is left, are naked trees, leaving us watching their grey skeletons.

 

In the end, we may be sad saying goodbye to those colours and shades, nevertheless, this is how it works, nature sacrifices this beautiful blanket to continue the life cycle, and this is what gives us the urge to see it again. It's once a year and you only can see it a couple days, you would care less if it was always there. 

Smiling leaf

That is, having four seasons is bliss, for some, Autumn it's a sign of grey and sad days, especially the ones who prefer summertime, on the other hand, I myself coming from a warmer area, don't prefer summer to overlap with Autumn. In where I come from, I could only feel the autumn when I'm told, it's time for school.

 

Thus, I consider myself lucky to enjoy these landscapes and captures those photographs and say, yes, this is Autumn and I can feel it, I can touch it, I can smell it and then record it on an organic film like the following photograph that I have taken in Niort 2020. 

 

"The summer just ended, ended with it our vacations, we folded our colourful summer outfits in the wardrobe and brought out our warmer clothes, and told my friend let's go out for a walk around the park in the city, it's beautiful there, we walk and push forward the fallen leaves, we walk slowly while feeling lukewarm sun rays through the yellow and orange shades formed cooperatively by trees...we sit on a bench and discuss our random topics, in the meantime we watch the wind as an invisible power dancing with the leaves creating a southing rustling.."

 

Autumn Niort 2020

It may be a simple process of what happening in front of us, however, somewhere it's a theatre play, written and played by the nature itself, orchestrated indeliberatly by the universe. 

Red tree, Niort 2020

Yes, it's red, it was a red tree and I slightly added some contrast after developing and scanning this frame, this tree drew my attention, it was rushing to paint itself almost all in a spectrum of red pigments while it neighbours were still in green shades.

One year later, I went again to this place and photographed again this tree, It may seem stupid that I was waiting until the autumn for this shot

Red tree, Niort 2020

Other than the colour, there is nothing special about this view, still in some way it reminds me of the Weirwood tree in the Game Of Thrones series.

Technically speaking, the leaves would like to stick to the branches, however, the days are getting shorter, therefore those leaves don't receive much energy, thus turning the pigmentation from green all the way to reddish colour, then death and falling on the ground, and that's how trees prepare for winter

Mare de la Tournelle, Paris region

This season has a further impact on us,  for instance, it influences the way we dress. As a street photographer, I'm keen about what people dress, in this season, people go more often in yellow or derivations of yellow like mustard, fire or even orange shades,...this kind of splash between us and the nature, it didn't happen randomly, but we human being intend to create a certain harmony with the environment around us, aesthetically appealing to the eye.

Queue at the ATM, Niort 2020

Place de la Breche, Niort, France

This period of time within this season doesn't last too long, thus, one would not miss this opportunity to read books or be together with your friends on this vivid glowing carpet, like winter you would like to stay home, reading your books near your fire or watching a movie while it's raining.

Autumn is different, you go out, you breathe that last oxygen released by the leaves before getting into the pigmentation phase and fall, the trees focus more on their roots and trunks, and we (human), we get ready for winter, school, work...it's a long run to get through the iteration again.

Place de la Breche Niort, France

Finally, this season or specifically this month (October) is a transition for all of us, it brings life into us. The browns, reds and yellows come back in a  short time while the greens vanish, and then we all move to dull rainy and windy weather, yet we shouldn't be sad, it's a time to harvest and to harvest our energies to hibernate and face the cold winter and in between there is always something to enjoy.

One last word, go out, it's falling gold... and don't rush.

 ...I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house. So I have spent almost all the daylight hours in the open air - Nathaniel Hawthorne