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Tag: fall foliage

Why Fall is My Favorite Time of Year

I expect many people would pick summertime as their favorite season. Warmer temperatures. Vacations. Grill action. Beach time. General fun in the sun. What’s not to like? 

Well, all that is indeed great, but I’m wired a bit differently. I like 75 degrees in the sun with low humidity.

And summer is often hot and humid. I don’t dig that. (Humidity is my kryptonite.)

Don’t get wrong… I enjoy the summer months… just not all the heat and sweat.

Instead, I prefer the cooler conditions that fall weather usually brings.

New Beginnings

However, fall gets a bad rap for ending summer’s bliss. Sure, it’s back to work. Back to school. Back to being serious.

But I like morning chill in the air. The crisp edge. The resulting sharper focus when you’re out and about.

Yes, I like putting on my big boy pants.

Of course, as a kid, I dreaded the first day of school. But it was also exciting. A new beginning. A fresh start.

And I’ve carried that enthusiasm for fall throughout my life.

There are also two big reasons I enjoy fall here in Connecticut.

Fire and Ice

Fall brings us right to the intersection between hot and cold. And I love that space. There’s nothing better than that glorious feeling of the warm sun on your shoulders on a cool fall day.

That’s when you can really appreciate nature’s warm vibe. And knowing it’s among the last few opportunities to feel it for months makes it even more special.

Colorful Conditions

The many colors of fall, of course, provide a great canvas for nature photography. And the fall foliage projects the similar theme of a last hurrah before all the leaves snap away into oblivion.

Yes, winter’s coming, but it’s not here yet.

To celebrate this time of year, here are some early October photos I snapped in a park near my local beach on a sunny weekend morning. The fall colors were just starting to show on the trees.

Warm. Cool. Perfect.

Finding the Bright Spots Past Peak Foliage

If you’re late this year embarking on your weekend leaf-peeping excursion, all is not lost. Here’s how to modify your expectations and still find some of the color you seek.

Suddenly the brilliant colors of fall in New England are gone. It happens faster than you may think. Another year you’ve missed peak foliage? Another opportunity lost? Not necessarily.

My family and I went for a hike this past weekend in Collis P. Huntington State Park in Redding, Connecticut. As we entered the forest, it felt like I had time-traveled forward several weeks. Almost all of the leaves were already on the ground.

“What?! This is not how the trees looked driving in.”

I gripped my little Panasonic Lumix LX-10. I looked up and around. I felt like I had entirely missed this year’s fall season.

But then I looked down and peered closer. Fall wasn’t done yet. No, not by a long shot.

The colors were still all there. They just weren’t displayed en masse any longer. I simply had to bend a knee and tighten my focus.

So that’s what I did, and here’s some of what I saw.

Individual results may vary, but no matter what time of year you spend time in nature, satisfaction guaranteed.

Take your Camera on your Next Drive and Turn Off your GPS App

Spending an extra hour on a road less traveled will often reveal new imagery for you to capture with your camera.

My GPS navigation apps have been pointing the way while I drive for years. Whether I’m using Waze, Google Maps, Apple Maps or my ancient Garmin, technology has been mapping my ‘fastest’ routes to my destinations. Of course, I sometimes wonder if the AI algorithms are actually sending me the longer way. That’s why I often run two apps simultaneously to see if I can generate directional consensus.

Yes, it feels imperfect, but it usually gets the job done for this city boy, who grew up in the easy-to-navigate box grid of Manhattan’s Upper East Side. (Complicated navigation challenges on the road have always been solved by my wife.)

The Value of Adding an Extra Hour to your Trip
I usually prioritize the shortest travel time when I’m in the car, but if you turn off your navigation app and take a little more time on the road less traveled, you might be pleasantly surprised by what you come across. I know this is not a revolutionary idea, but I’ve found that applying it for an hour or so on drives you’ve previously taken can expose you to new scenery, while not dramatically sacrificing your planned arrival time.

No, you’re not going off the grid for the day. You’re just taking the other route your GPS has shunned, possibly due to just a few extra driving minutes.

Taking my Time Driving through Connecticut
I recently applied this visual exploration strategy on a drive back from northwestern Connecticut with the hopes of finding some quintessential New England fall scenery to photograph.

I was not disappointed.

Kent Falls
Connecticut Fall Vista Timelapse
Bulls Bridge

Something New is Just Around the Corner
If you’re in search of new imagery to capture but don’t have a whole day to explore, turning off your GPS app for an hour or so while driving and sticking to local roads can offer the perfect solution.