- 01 AUTUMN LEAVES | Beech
This first image was made in 2009 on a walk near my home. A very young beech growing under larger mature trees ended the season in a glow of intense yellow under the late afternoon sun. The red edgings hint at the deep copper tones to come.
- 02 AUTUMN LEAVES | Beech
In 2010, this, and the following seven images were made within half a mile of my home. In spring, the beech tree opens delicately formed and coloured leaves that gradually darken and toughen over the summer. Autumn engenders a panoply of colours which coalesce into the familiar deep copper. At any season, a walk through a mature beech wood is uplifting.
- 03 AUTUMN LEAVES | Beech
Planted by a flyover road junction in the nineteen-seventies, this beech and its companion on the preceding image are now of appreciable size and are already out-growing their home. I liked the wide colour range of the leaves.
- 04 AUTUMN LEAVES | Elm
These elm leaves had fallen from a tree growing alongside a narrow lane. Coming across them on a damp morning I there and then made a casual arrangement that presented the upper surface of all of them to the camera.
- 05 AUTUMN LEAVES | Lime
I collected leaves from various tree species, put them into polythene bags and left them lightly weighted for a few days for them to flatten and begin to decay. This casual arrangement of lime leaves was then photographed indoors in natural light. Other formations included a variety of formal patterns but I preferred informality.
- 06 AUTUMN LEAVES | Maple
This modestly scaled maple was growing under larger trees planted and self-seeded in a broad roadside swathe. A gap allowed gentle autumn light to set this spray against a darker background.
- 07 AUTUMN LEAVES | Oak
Several years ago the landowner planted a long rectangle of largely deciduous trees in part of a field alongside the highway. Now eight or so feet in height the slender trunk of this oak is still encased in its protective plastic support tube. Perforated by insects, the spray is not perfection but I liked the curve of the stem and the turning yellow leaf tones.
- 08 AUTUMN LEAVES | Sycamore
The winged sycamore seeds spin away from their parent tree and are very successful at germinating into anywhere offering sustenance. This tar spot fungus afflicted specimen was modest in size and growing amongst a dense area of roadside trees. I liked their black intrusion into this spray of leaves, set against the hard greens, fleeting yellows and the brown and brittle final leaf state.
- 09 AUTUMN LEAVES | Cherry
Cherry trees are included in the roadside planting, which, after forty years is being rather aggressively ‘managed’ and thinned. I liked the almost structured leaf arrangement, the colours, and the less than immaculate individual leaf condition.
- 10 AUTUMN LEAVES | Cherry
The oval format and leaf colour appealed.
- 11 AUTUMN LEAVES | Unidentified
Whilst staying in Seattle (see the Seattle architecture galleries) I explored the area around Ballard Bridge to the north of the city centre. This tree was growing behind a beautifully constructed wire-bound slatted wooden fence (also photographed) surrounding a small works and storage depot. The intense reds of the flaming dragon’s breath leaf shapes seemed hot enough to warm my hands against on a crisp and breezy morning.
- 12 AUTUMN LEAVES | Unidentified
On the same walk, I stood underneath a tree shedding its leaves to be gathered into roadside drifts by the brisk breeze. I simply and randomly pointed the camera downwards to record their vivid colours.
- 13 AUTUMN LEAVES | Maple
This, and the following five images were made during a brief family visit to Seattle Arboretum that allowed occasional camera use. This is, I think, a Japanese maple. There were many in progressive colour change and this is a detail from a particularly striking specimen.
- 14 AUTUMN LEAVES | Unidentified
Apart from the vivid colouration, I liked the clamshell shaped leaves and their velvety surfaces recorded in this somewhat basic composition. There must have been labels somewhere but there was simply no time to look and record.
- 15 AUTUMN LEAVES | Witch hazel (?)
I tentatively identified this as a type of witch hazel but am open to correction. Its spectacular form and colour were memorable with or without an identity.
- 16 AUTUMN LEAVES | Maple
The low growing maples presented wide spreads of foliage.
- 17 AUTUMN LEAVES | Unidentified
The light from an overcast sky seemed to enhance the greens that still formed a background to the autumnal yellows, oranges and reds.
- 18 AUTUMN LEAVES | Maple
A shaft of brighter light cut through a narrow gap in the higher leaf canopy to brighten the centre foliage on this maple branch.