Tag Archives: trees

Waiting for Spring

Despite the mild winter, I am, as always come February, longing for the greens of early Spring.  The tips of Day Lilies are already showing on the sunny side of the house. Buds are swelling on the trees earlier than usual.

Taughannock trees

Most look for the tell-tale Robin to signal Spring’s arrival. I’ve found that the arrival of the Turkey Vultures in the gorge behind our house as an equally dependable sign.

turkey vulture

The woods of early Spring are often as beautiful and colorful as Fall. The new green is more intense than any other. And the trees glow against the contrast of nearly bare branches that still await new foliage.

spring woods

backlit trees

squirrel cornSpring blossoms arrive with colors that have been absent for what seems far too long after months of monochrome winter.

The forest floor soon comes alive with new life and the warmth of the Spring sun fills the gorges and fields. The frost is gone, the morning dew is heavy, and I am inspired by the awakening of the earth.

pink dogwood

Post written by George Cannon.

Color Pops on Cloudy Rainy Days

fall color 1

For so many years, Kodak encouraged us to pick a sunny day for our picture taking. “Put the sun over your left shoulder”. Film was slow, cameras were simple, and our memory filled in the blanks. With the sophistication of today’s equipment and the development over the years of digital processing, sensitive sensors with high ISO’s and low noise, you can almost shoot in the dark and get good images. Canon’s new 1Dx body is capable of ISO’s as high as 204,800. Of course it costs $7,000. But such is digital technology today. That being said, what about fall color?

fall color 2

fall color 3

The reality is that sunny days are not the best days for shooting fall color. Actually a day like yesterday with clouds and light occasional sprinkles of rain are ideal days for capturing fall color. The woods are dark and deep, the light is diffuse and even with no harsh contrast, and the rain helps to intensify the color on the leaves. So grabbing the gear and driving around my own neighborhood, I took a little afternoon time to go out and capture a bit of the beauty still evident in this colorful season.

fall color 5

fall color 5

fall color 6

Posted by George Cannon.

All images are Copyright © George Cannon.

Fall Color Has Arrived

Driving home this afternoon, I was keenly aware of how rapidly, almost overnight, it seems the fall color has arrived.  I’ve certainly seen it creeping up. A few trees here and there, the asters at the road side, the sumac reds. But this afternoon it seemed that almost the entire ride home along Rte.89 to Trumansburg was simply alive with new color. Maybe I’ve just been too busy to notice, maybe my mind has been on too many other things, or maybe the change was really that rapid. Regardless, fall is here in all its glory and it’s time to take the cameras and hit the road to revel in autumn beauty. The assignment for the next CNP meeting is “Fall Color”. So let’s go get. Enjoy!

roadside asters

taughannock creek

abandoned house

red tree

red sumac

Posted by George Cannon. All images are © George Cannon.