The Light in Autumn
October 25th, 2005One of the reasons I love living where there are four seasons is the light throughout the year. Summer evening light is different than winter evening light. One of my favorite times of year for light is Autumn. About 10 a.m. or so, the light is just fantastic.
The above shot was taken at Bear Lake, Utah in the mid-morning. Shortly thereafter, I got in trouble for learning how to get to the top of the mountain on the four-wheelers. I didn’t tell Heather what I was doing. Everybody warned me that Heather was upset. But then later that day, my family watched Leta and Heather got to ride a four-wheeler for the first time where she took these photos. Pretty fun and worth the scolding, but the light was so severe, my retinas felt like I had been in some bizarre Clockwork Orange re-education scenario.
To recap: Autumnal light great for photos, painful for recreational vehicle riding.


October 25th, 2005 at 2:05 pm
That’s a nice shot. We have an incredible tree in our yard with pink/orange and yellow leaves on it that someday I’ll get around to posting. This year was a good year for fall colors. The Alpine Loop was amazinf a couple of weeks ago. Something about the water content, I think. A rainy spring and summer like we had here in UT, makes for a glorious autumn. Dry seasons makes form dull, boring browns in Sept. and Oct. Anyway, nice shot.
October 25th, 2005 at 2:41 pm
There’s something to be said for summer light in the August months. In Texas, right before sunset, everything is wrapped in the most wonderful of pinks and creams — very little in the world compares.
October 25th, 2005 at 4:00 pm
In Arkansas, we LIVE for autumn. And it finally just began in earnest two days ago. 92 one day, 64 the next, just like that.
I, too, am most fond of outdoor fall pictures, even more so than spring.
October 25th, 2005 at 4:38 pm
The leaf looks like it has been brushed with gold. So beautiful. Great shot, Jon. I love the way the light changes up here in Washington state in the fall. With the low angle of the sun it feels like late afternoon nearly all day (when the sun is not covered by clouds, of course…)
October 25th, 2005 at 5:02 pm
It looks like this whole picture is etched in gold.
October 25th, 2005 at 6:54 pm
I can’t imagine ANY reason to live in Utah. My aunt lives there. She must live in a particularly ugly area or something because I’ve found nothing appealing about the place.
Jon, besides family: what keeps you there?
October 25th, 2005 at 10:59 pm
My God I haven’t heard anything about A Clockwork Orange for a very long time.
October 25th, 2005 at 11:17 pm
Donovan… I can’t speak for Jon A., but I know that one thing that keeps me here in SLC is the SNOW! and the nearness of the ski resorts. But it’s a crazy weird place in a lot of other aspects. I’d miss being able to go snowboarding easily all the time in the winter, if we moved.
October 26th, 2005 at 12:05 am
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October 26th, 2005 at 12:57 am
Donovan, your aunt must live in a very unappealing place; Utah is filled with wonderful vistas. Head up to Mirror Lake sometime or perhaps Canyonlands on your next visit. Hell, drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon or look out my backyard - it is beautiful 10 months out of the year. Only the end of July and August when everything is dry does it ever seem a bit dull.
October 26th, 2005 at 8:29 am
Autumn light is my favorite here in central Maryland as well. The yellow and orange cast on everything in the morning and late afternoon is gorgeous. But doing anything else outside is, as you said, painful, when the sun is always at just the right angle to pierce through your pupils.
October 26th, 2005 at 8:38 am
Autumn is my favourite season. I love the light, the colours the smells. Great photos…
TK
October 26th, 2005 at 3:33 pm
you two have the same outfit on…that’s disgustingly cute.
October 26th, 2005 at 3:49 pm
my mum’s family is from all over the Bear Lake valley and we have a cabin on the lake, just north of Fish Haven. I love that place - love it. I wish I were closer so I could go visit the fam more often. Glad you and Heather and the lil’ Leta-lady have that.
October 26th, 2005 at 11:02 pm
i saw heather’s photos the other day, and i kept thinking “whoa, that’s so unnaturally crisp and bright.” glad there’s some freak explanation for it: clean air.
October 26th, 2005 at 11:52 pm
My parents now live in Utah; while it pains me to visit Utah, Autumn in Utah is incredible.
October 27th, 2005 at 6:46 am
Those pictures are pretty tight. New Mexico is also a very beautiful place.
October 27th, 2005 at 9:41 am
Crispy.
How can Thomas Kinkade get away with calling himself “The Painter of Light,” with his fuzzy-ass, cotton candy-spewed images of country gone evangelical?!
A fan of light.
October 27th, 2005 at 1:09 pm
I love the colours of autumn. People always go on about Sgt Pepper having the most amazing cover art, but I always preferred the subtle autumnyness of “Beatles For Sale”… http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002UAI/
October 28th, 2005 at 8:42 am
now THERE’S a picture i would purchase.
October 30th, 2005 at 7:53 am
gorgeous shot. absolutely stunning.