[#59]

The air has turned colder, the days have become shorter and the leaves are falling to the ground by the thousands every day. Another winter is on its way. I strapped my backpack, grabbed the camera and headed out an hour before noon to soak in the warmth of the sun and enjoy a quiet walk in the countryside. Well, at least as far as possible at this time of the year.

Living on the edge of the town can be a bit of a hassle during the weekdays when one has to drive in to and out of the city for work suffering the rush hour traffic. On the weekends however, it is a boon as nature is right at the doorstep. The invitation is always there to step out and enjoy it. One just has to put the mind to it which, as we know, is not always that simple.

I took in the surroundings. Tried to see them with a clear head and a photographic eye. One that I feel I’m getting better at everyday but still have a long way to go. Drew my camera out and captured the below scene just as the old man was buttoning up his jacket and getting back up on his bicycle.

I soon came across a railway bridge. There was a footpath on the side to cross the river. I decided to walk up there to capture some expansive vistas.

Soon the path headed in to the woods. As it would be colder and darker there at the moment, I turned around to head back home.

On the way downhill and back under the bridge, I waited a while for some trains to come my way so that I could practice capturing something other than stationary landscapes. The first attempts were not very successful. I either didn’t have the camera in the right setting or was too slow to react to the oncoming train. The trains weren’t very frequent along this route and after waiting a while I was beginning to wonder if I had missed the chance. It is always easier to experiment and get it right on the spot, if possible, rather than heading back home and returning the next day or even the next week. The vantage point might not be the same, the light might be different, getting the same composition might be frustrating and last but not least, the camera settings might also be confounding. On this occasion however, I was lucky to get another bite at the cherry. It was only a goods train though. No high speed, arrow-like, mile-muncher piercing through the wind. But the result was respectable.

The way back offered some more autumnal hues which I gladly snapped up. It had been quite a jolly afternoon with some interesting photographic opportunities but now I kept a brisk pace against the chilly wind with the warm comfort of home beckoning.

[#57]

The weather is a fickle friend. Full of glee and radiating warmth one day to shrinking into a shell and engulfing all in gloomy grey the next. This is especially true of the autumn months when the weather changes not just on a daily basis but almost every hour. While feeling liberated and cheerful one moment, the sharp, cold stabs of the wind and rain are never too far away.

Not to mention the sniffles, as if the weather outside wasn’t moody enough. It too manages to catch a significant portion of the population completely off-guard and proceeds to lay them low just in case attempts were being made to ward off the poor weather with high spirits. Let’s not get started, shall we, on those people who pretend to push through this minor setback by smiling through it and frolickling around. No. I will have none of it. The ailment lasts for around 7 days or a week, depending on whether we take medication or not 😉

In spite of the grumbling though, the season provides bountiful opportunities mainly for nature photography if one is able to buckle up, head out and warm up the senses a little bit. This post shares a small sample. Also shooting downwards at the ground makes for some splendid images, especially in this season.

[#43]

Ever since I started this blog I have been consciously stepping out more frequently on photowalks around my neighbourhood and it’s been a pleasant surprise to stumble upon a nook here and there that I have never seen before. From a couple of images below, which were shot in the afternoon in bright daylight, it appears that these corners lend themselves visible only to those who really want to find them 🙂

The first images were captured in semi autopilot mode. You know, pointing the camera at the ground, pointing it directly upwards, shooting into the sun etc. The usual. But there’s no saying if I was being a social nuisance or not since there was no one around to witness it. That’s the experiment of Schrödinger’s cat.

Although it’s quite fantastical to imagine a cat in a lab coat performing an experiment, here I mean the experiment called Schrödinger’s cat. For the former, I refer you to a beloved Hanna-Barbera character. (I really am making this up as I go on. I had no more than two sentences in my head as I sat down to write.) Though, as I say it, I wonder if the other characters in Tom’s world would consider him a social nuisance rather than beloved. Does that then make me a beloved character (or even a cat?) to someone looking into my world? Though if that someone is Schrödinger from the afterworld, he’s probably more likely to reach for my throat right now.

Getting back to the real story, a few minutes of breathing in the air of Narnia (Obviously. Having come this far are you really going to give up now? :)) put me in a whimsical state of mind. Why get a ground-level shot in the “usual” way when I can hold the camera upside-down, face backwards, bend downwards, hold the camera at ground-level and shoot between my legs (facing the horizon and not upwards. Wanted to put it out there just in case). I checked. There was no one around as this series of events came to pass. Below is the result rotated 180° to face the right way.

Naturally, I have no images to show of Narnia itself as those that were taken while there have been magically erased from the card on my return to reality. Basic fantasy stuff. But it was wonderful, I tell you. Here’s an image of the path leading to Narnia though. Only those who really want to find it will make it there again.

Final image of the day presented some challenges which, though stepping out of Narnia but still carrying a dusting of fantasy on me, I was able to overcome but not without some friction between mind, hand and device. Reality was slowly getting its fat fingers back on me. (I was about to use the words “cold”, “clammy” and “claws” here as per cliche but that would be really hitting Reality below the belt. I thought the poor guy deserved a break from the third degree.)

[#40]

The trees and plants are losing leaves by the hour, never mind days. The weather has been typical too in the last days. Gone is the golden October and it has given way to a wet and windy climate. The season is past it’s zenith and we are inching closer to winter. Yes, it feels good to reiterate the obvious. It was like a bad itch at the back of my throat (or rather in the palm of my hand in this case?) that needed to be scratched 🙂

With that thing then behind us, I present to you more autumnal hues.

Evening light

Catching the sunlight

In spite of the nice colours still on offer, I have gone out on a limb and finished the below image in a soft monochrome tone. Maybe I was just looking for a visual respite from the overpowering shades of yellows and red but it really looks like it works here.

Monochrome

A couple of images were once again captured either by getting low or even pointing the camera at the ground. I was once again quite conscious while doing this. Was it probably because I wasn’t a tourist here with a devil-may-care attitude but rather in my own neighbourhood? Maybe not entirely but I believe it plays a part.

Mushrooms

Textures

[#38]

Given the season and some spells of sunny weather over the weekend, it seemed like a prudent decision to step out for some autumnal offerings from the nature. As can probably be gathered from the images, Corona or not, the rest of the population had made the conscious decision to keep distance from the weirdo bent over the viewfinder at ground level or even shooting directly downwards at the ground. “Wouldn’t want to catch whatever sickness he’s carrying” 🙂

Jokes aside, the below images are a sample from a weekend walk and edited to taste. They were more or less worth bending over backwards for. I think.