“Alcove With Flowers” — Freshly-picked daffodils in a pot in a garden alcove.
This was a rather serendipitous photograph. We had been photographing in this large garden for an hour or two. The sun was getting higher in the sky, making the light less appealing for photographing foliage, and we decided it was time to move on. We were on our way toward the exit of the garden when I passed through a gate in a brick wall and just happen to look back… and see this little scene built into the wall.
Autumn plants growing at the base of a sandstone cliff
It seems that we have arrived at that time when each year my thoughts begin to turn again to autumn photography. That is probably my favorite season as it includes those final warm days of Indian summer, the first inkling of the coming winter, the annual color transition as trees lose their leaves, and the first real winter weather — all of which are favorite photographic subjects of mine. (I’ll be paying special attention to Sierra Nevada fall color this coming season, for a number of reasons, but especially since this is the first autumn following the publication of my book on the subject: “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” from Heyday Press.)
So, an autumn photograph! This one comes from last October, when I had the opportunity to make a photography trip through some of may favorite areas of southern Utah. Partway through the trip I met up with my friend and fellow photographer, David Hoffman. We spent several days poking around in and photographing Capitol Reef National Park. On this evening we passed through a narrow gorge not far from our camp, quickly stopped, and ended up photographing the red rock canyon walls and the autumn colors until the light faded at the end of the day.