A week later...

A week ago, this tree had green leaves mixed in with the orange.  Now they're just blazing orange, and the top has started to shed its leaves.  Taken as I drove by; the windshield needs to be cleaned!

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/250
Exposure Program	Aperture-priority AE
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Swan & State

This tree catches my eye every year.  I always tell myself that one year I'm going to do a photo a day and then time lapse the lot into a short video, but I never commit to it.  It's not the same every year, either.  This year it has green and red together; more typically it turns red, yellow and brown.

F Number	8.0
Focal Length	28.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 56.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/160
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Central Park leaves

Took the youngest biking in Schenectady's Central Park.  While he was walking around the Duck Pond, I sat in a patch of sun among the leaves.

F Number	5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/500
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Leaves on the windshield

It was raining when I went to work the other day, so I had to take the car rather than the motorcycle.  When I left work, the windshield had these beautiful leaves on it, so I took their photo from the inside of the car. 

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/6
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	-0.66
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Tree stump

Saw this on a bike ride through Vale and couldn't resist the reds, greens and browns.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/250
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Leafy path

We took a bicycle ride through Vale Cemetery, and while the youngest was down in the creek bed, I wandered along the path a bit.  Last year's twin storms (Irene and Lee) washed out a lot of this path, and it got a new layer of gravel in the spring.  That's usually noisy to walk on, but not now, with this thick blanket of quiet leaves.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/200
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Cowhorn Creek

This is the Cowhorn Creek as it looks right now.  It's hard to believe that this runs through the heart of the city!  Well, runs through is a bit misleading, as it runs in pipes for most of it's course.  Only here, in Vale Cemetery, does it have an unbounded path.  The leaves have been changing colour for a week or so.  Some are still deep green, but the colour is creeping in.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	22.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 44.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/100
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Yes, more leaves

It's been a strange autumn.  Typically, the leaves are all down by now.  The maples have mostly shed all of their leaves, but some species still have only just started the process.  We are past the peak of colour, but it was a subtle peak this year.  These maple leaves are paler than last year, and very few turned brown. Today, the temperature is supposed to be in the low 60s (F).  Incredible!

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	40.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 80.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/125
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Wet leaves in a wet parking lot.  It probably sounds odd, but my childhood memories of autumn centre around leaves.  The dry leaves that blow and rustle and settle in drifts against the curb.  The wet leaves that stick to the ground like magnets.  And the aroma - some call it a smell, but that scent has happy connotations for me.  I'm like a little boy again when I see these leaves.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/30
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Leaves

Last week, the little guy decided to walk home from the Green Market.  It's a pretty easy stroll from downtown to our house although State Street hill provides a bit of an obstacle.  He decided to avoid State Street and instead, 'take the shortcut' through Vale.  It definitely took us longer to walk through Vale than it would if we'd gone up State Street, but the walk was so much nicer.  The trees are odd this year; some are past their peak colour and some still completely green.  This image of a lone maple leaf among the oak leaves caught my eye.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/100
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Raindrops

It's raining today.

We've had the odd shower or thunderstorm move through in the past few weeks, but today is the first steady rain in a while, and so it's notable.

I'm happy for the farm fields which were looking a bit parched.  My hydrangea bush is happy, too!

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/1300
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Change is coming

No, not politics, the colours!

Some trees have well into their transformation from their summer's green to the colours of autumn. Some trees go all at once and others go a bit at a time. It's interesting to see how quickly the leaves change. In a week's time this tree will have probably lost all its leaves, ready to slumber for the winter.

The last leaves

In Vale cemetery, one maple tree insists that it will keep its leaves thank you very much!

Rainy leaves

More than anything this reminds me of my childhood. Scuffing my feet through the leaves on the ground on my way to school in the rain.

I always did like the rain.

Grafton State Park

Although I live in the city, nature isn't very far away. This is Grafton Lake, a very beautiful State Park set aside for all New Yorkers to enjoy. It was a chilly day, but we met several people walking through the woods along the lake.

Contrast

The contrasts caught my eye. Fog attenuates colours, so the bold colour of the flag stood out immediately. More subtle is the contrast between the trees bravely holding their leaves and the one already prepared for winter's winds.

Sometimes it's the little things that satisfy best.

Leaves and rain

Taken at the end of my driveway. It was raining; enough that there was a current carrying leaf litter down the street. It caught my eye for some reason and here it is, a memory from my childhood schoolboy, walking to school in October.

Tree before the frost

This tree is in a neighbour's yard. The colours are just coming in. The frost will kick this maple tree's shedding reflex very soon and I'll post a companion photo when it does.

Colour

A single leaf on my sidewalk. I liked the colout and how it landed next to the exhausted blade of grass. Many more of its companions will soon follow!

Moccasin Kill Preserve

The Nature Conservancy has a sanctuary off of Crawford Rd in Schenectady County. Technically, I think it's in Rotterdam Junction, but it's a very nice place to go on a beautiful autumn day. The leaves haven't peaked here yet, but they're on their way.


View Larger Map

This is a terrain map showing the area. It's south of Crawford Rd. There's a small parking area at about 950 feet altitude. Small means two friendly cars can simultaneously park. The trail has red markers and crosses the Moccasin Kill several times. Vertical change is a little over a hundred feet. There's a map at the trail head.