As a born and raised New Englander, year after year, I was gloriously treated to Fall seasons just like the photos you are seeing here.
I have always loved Fall. It is my favorite season of the year, not only because of the beautiful colors that nature displays but also because of the mood that it evokes in me. Fall is a time to look inward, to be reflective and ruminative, and to appreciate what I have and what I have lost.
As a photographer, I try to capture the essence of Fall in my pictures. I look for the contrasts and the harmonies, the light and the shadows, the warmth and the chill. I see Fall as a metaphor for life, for the cycles of growth and decay, for the joys and the sorrows, for the beginnings and the endings, for love gained and love lost.
Fall is a melancholy time of year.
One of the most striking features of Fall is the changing of the leaves. They transform from green to yellow, orange, red, and brown, creating a stunning palette of colors that dazzle the eye. But the leaves also represent our transformations, our changes, our losses. They remind us that nothing lasts forever, that everything has its season, and that we have to let go of what we cannot keep.
I think of the leaves as symbols of my relationships, especially the ones that have ended. I think of the people who have come and gone in my life, who have left their mark on me, who have taught me something, who have hurt me, who have loved me. I think of how each of them was like a leaf, a unique and beautiful expression of life, that I was lucky enough to share a part of my journey.
Color is another element that I pay attention to in my photography. Color can convey emotions, moods, feelings, and messages. Color can make a picture come alive, or make it dull. Color can attract, or repel. Color can speak, or be silent.
I see color as a reflection of my emotions, especially the ones that I feel in the Fall. I see how the colors of the leaves match the colors of my heart, how they express what I cannot say, how they reveal what I try to hide. I see how the yellow represents my happiness, the orange my enthusiasm, the red my passion, the brown my sadness.
But I also see how the colors of the leaves contrast with the colors of the sky, and how they create tension, conflict, a drama. I see how the blue represents my calmness, the gray my gloom, the black my despair, the white my hope.
Fall is a season of love and loss, of beauty and pain, of life and death. It is a season that I cherish and dread, that I celebrate and mourn, that I embrace and resist. It is a season that inspires me and challenges me, that moves me and changes me, that heals me and hurts me.
Fall, in all its overflowing beauty and bounty, is a season that I love, and a season that I fall.
Click.
Jack
P.S. These photos were all shot on my iPhone 13 Pro-Max and edited in the Photos app. They are mostly a mini collection of Western Massachusetts and Upper State New York
