Taking Your Fall Color Where You Find It

Here in central Texas the yellows and golds of autumn are easy to come by - at least in the late afternoon - the reds, not so much. I remember in the mid-60s, my mother commented on how pretty the fall color was that year. I was still going to school in western North Carolina, and I couldn't see it. That's when I discovered that color is relative.

Scanning the pastoral scene above the thick fence post near the middle of the frame caught my eye and reminded me that a little detail might be interesting in the midst of these sweeping vistas. I have to remind myself of this regularly because of the way I shoot. I don't zoom in as close as I might; I like to leave enough space surrounding the subject that I can use judicious cropping later, when I can evaluate the image properly on my computer.

Here's that fake raincloud again, the one from yesterday's post. After this shot, I continued up to the end of Cow Creek Road, then turned southwest on FM 1174 to the gap where I'd shoot the sunset. I'd neglected to ascertain the time of sunset, so I didn't waste much time. Cow Creek not only wasn't flowing in its upper reaches, it was dry as a bone. The lack of water made it easy to dismiss the countryside, including the balcones for which these canyon lands are named.

As soon as I saw this I liked it. The title of today's post came from this shot. I'd finally captured enough red foliage to comment on, and the sun was picking up the rust colored paint on the steel gate and fence post. The vibrant green of the Ash Juniper - "Cedar" to Central Texans - was nicely scattered, and the westering sun provided enough yellow for that portion of the palette. And, finally, there was plenty of blue sky with a scattered layer of clouds adding detail and its own limited range of colors. It may not be a sugar maple, but it works for me.

As in the previous picture, I like shooting up the hill - especially when I can take advantage of an interesting sky. It probably has more to do with my working at home than any change in the nature of Texas skies, but when I do get out I really appreciate how much interest the clouds can add to an image.

If things go as planned here, you'll see Sunday's sunset tomorrow, while I'm up in Arlington at Angela's and Danny's for Thanksgiving.