As our calendars more through September, it is inevitable that our thoughts will turn toward the approaching autumn season. There are the signs of changing seasons all around us. We go to the farmers markets and we start to see the storage crops – pumpkins, carrots, potatoes, turnips, canning tomatoes, and apples. The first pressings of sweet cider begin to make an appearance. Temperatures are noticeably cooler, especially in the overnight hours. Stacks of firewood will appear in preparation for even colder weather. Daylight hours become shorter and some people may even notice the shifting angle of the sun. Geese and hummingbirds, among many others, begin their flights to the south. Of course, we can also look on the calendars for the words that mark the astronomical change, “First Day of Autumn”.
This is an exciting time of year for anyone with a camera. Photographers have planned all summer long for colorful scenes. We have been looking at that red barn and envisioned it surrounded by brilliantly colored maple leaves. We have thought about how to frame a waterfall that will be refreshed by an autumn rain. There is an anticipation of a white country church with an old cemetery that will be perfectly illuminated by the lower angle sunlight. Cattle and horses will be grazing in lush late-season pastures. Wild animals will become more active as they look to gorge on their food to gain fat to help survive the coming winter and many will try to mate to accommodate the over-winter gestation period.
Often in September, at least in the Northeastern U.S., there will be both a cold snap and a warming trend during this time. We seem to notice these changes more if the summer has been one of unrelenting heat. We enjoy the cooler days as well as being glad for the warmth returning for a brief period. We cannot escape the knowledge that much colder temperatures are on the way, but we will have a respite before the cold arrives in earnest. This is a time to enjoy the many “harvest festivals” that spring up every weekend in September and often extend into October.
Poets will often rhapsodize about spring as a time of love and renewal. However, photographers become excited for the many possibilities that autumn presents. The colors seem to pop, sunlight comes a more image-friendly angle, and the blue sky is often dotted by puffy white clouds. It is a prime time for landscape and wildlife photographers. Some of my all-time favorite images have been captured during autumn. There seems to be no end of stunning photos to shoot.
There is much to love as autumn approaches. Certainly some will lament the fading of summer. Others will dread the coming winter season. But autumn is a wonderful transition period, giving us a chance to remember the joys of summer and to prepare for the cold winter. Autumn is a time to revel in warm sunny days, crisp evenings, the harvest bounty, glorious photogenic scenery, and to reset our mental annual clock.