The Feel of Autumn

There’s something about the feel of autumn - heading out on an early morning walk and feeling the last rays of the summer sun on your face, the crunch of dried leaves under your feet and the cool smell of damp lingering in the air. It’s a season for all the senses.

In a way this time of year doesn’t feel like the start of a season, more like the tail end of summer as the light dwindles, the days begin to shorten and the leaves begin to fall. And although December is the month we associate with the end of the year, for me August has more of that feeling with the end of the summer holidays and the start of the new school term. Even as an adult it’s hard to shake off the cycle of the academic year.

I quite like this sense of new beginnings that autumn brings with a shift towards comfort, warmth and reflection. It’s a chance to stop and take stock, to make plans for the months ahead or perhaps come to the realisation that something has run its course. I’ve been mulling over some thoughts regarding the path I want to pursue with my photography, thinking about what type of images I enjoy creating and who for. I have made some tiny plans for things I would like to do next year with my photography and the direction I would like to take it in. Of course, nothing is certain in the road ahead with all that’s going on with Covid but at least I feel I am formulating ideas to put into action when we can.

I took my camera out earlier this week on one of my favourite walks from our house which meanders through the local woods. Lovely as the autumn leaves are, I wanted to try and capture something more - I wanted to encapsulate the feel of autumn.

Like most families, our weekday mornings are fairly full on with getting three sons off to different schools at varying times. One thing I appreciated about the spring lockdown was not being tied to this routine which meant I could get up and out of the door with my camera early without the interruption of the school run. The bonus with autumn mornings is not having to set out quite as early as the rest of the year. So I can still do my taxi service duties and get back in time to catch some morning sunshine.

I hope my photographs here convey some of that autumn magic I am talking about - misty mornings; beads of sunlit rain drops on hedgerow bracken; beams of light falling in pools on the woodland floor as well as the beautiful golden, yellow and russet hues of the changing leaf colour.

If you have a camera, or even using your phone camera, I encourage you get out and notice the changes around you in nature - on your walks, in your garden or on the way to work. There’s always something magical to photograph at this time of year.