Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

On the last official day of summer, I was able to get over to the Washington Park Arboretum again for pictures. Whenever the leaves start changing in the fall—on any tree anywhere in the city—I immediately get antsy, afraid that I am going to miss out on the spectacular colors of the season if I don't hurry over to the Arboretum as soon as possible. Of course, I always find out that I am way ahead of the game and there are only a small portion of trees that have taken on their fall color. But it puts my mind at ease for a few weeks and I also have the privilege of capturing the last blooms of summer and the first signs of fall. Really it's a win-win situation.

I spent a lot of my time "looking up" on this trip to the Arboretum, so much so that I actually got a crick in my neck. But it was well worth the effort for pictures like these:


 

 (Don't miss the enormous spider web in the upper right corner of this last picture—clicking on the picture will make it larger. I didn't see it when I took the picture but noticed it when I was editing.)

I also found a few flowers to photograph, including the rare and elusive Franklin Tree (Franklinia alatamaha). Okay, it's not really elusive. I simply couldn't find it last year when I traipsed all over the Arboretum last year looking for it. This time I found it by accident, of course. What's special about this plant is the fact that it blooms in the late summer/early fall and the later blooms are framed by orange, red, and purple leaves as the fall color sets in. Right now the leaves haven't started to change colors yet, but the beautiful white blooms are beginning to open:



Berries were in abundant supply this year and came in a variety of colors, from white to pink to red to yellow. I like this particular photo because it came out looking more like a painting than a photograph:



I was also fortunate enough to get this shot of a bee:
He looks rather scary to me but it's still amazing to see him in this much detail.

After some deliberation, I've decided on this picture as my favorite shot from the set:

I had a lot of favorites, but this one stood out the most and I kept coming back to it. The angle draws me in and pulls me up. The flower seems confident, strong, and determined but still with softness and femininity. It inspires me in my journey toward becoming not only a strong person of God but also a strong woman of God. And you thought it was just a silly little flower!

You can see my best shots from this set by clicking on the slideshow below or you can use the "see it larger" link at the bottom, which will take you directly to my photography site where you can view them in full screen.  Enjoy!

Comments

  1. As usual, dear, you have an AMAZING eye for the beauty of our God's creation. Thanks for sharing...

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  2. Oh, lovely! Hard for me to choose a favorite, but those filtered orange and green leaves are speaking to me. Nice that you can embed a slideshow like that.

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