fall

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Larch Madness

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I missed out the Larch Madness of 2024, for the reason that I was in a completely different continent at the peak of the larch season. Larch madness, so named for the precise and synchronous change of color by the Western larches, whose needles take on a amber hue as the temperatures start to dip in early October. Walking in a larch forest at this time is a surreal experience, with backlit trees exhibiting a golden hue. And since they grow in large clusters, the color is very pronounced both up close and from a distance.

This is one such larch grove at one of my favorite destinations for the larches. I happened to arrive at the right time to capture beautiful reflections at this golden lake in the eastern eaves of the Cascade range.

Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest
WA USA

Golden Honor

Seems like just yesterday I was hiking through a larch forest in peak fall foliage. I spied endless mountain slopes covered in resplendent gold, glowing in the morning sun under a crisp autumn sky.

How is it that six months have passed already?

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
WA USA

Colors in the Garden

While grand vistas draw me out to the mountains, there are times when I try to focus on the intricate details of the scene, especially in places whose aesthetic shines. Japanese gardens exude such aesthetics with a unique sense of design that highlight the natural landscape. And in fall, these intricate gardens are saturated with warm colors, which, when combined with architectural elements such as pagodas, teahouses and stone lanterns, form colorful subjects to photograph.

During a fall visit to the famous Portland Japanese garden early in the morning, I found many such scenes waiting to be photographed. I found one such scene where these architectural elements were juxtaposed against the green needles of Red Pines and the vibrant Japanese Maples in the soft morning light. Hopefully the smoke this year hasn't had too much of an impact on the garden this year.

Portland
OR USA

A National Parks Journey - Acadia National Park

Having been established in 1916, this 100+ year old park was one of the older parks that I had visited in my National Parks Journey. Due to its age, I had envisioned a Park that captured rustic New England culture in a region that faced long harsh winters and lush summers. I also knew that, similar to other parks in the North East of the country, the area the Park preserved was not a place to escape away from civilization to nature, but to protect a region where the the two coexisted and even when humanity encroached on nature. And just like those other Parks, Acadia was replete with beautiful parkways that wound their way through the island offering plenty of turnouts to stop and enjoy the scenery. But in addition, Acadia also featured carriage trails preserved from the age of romanticism, along with hiking trails that wound through the forests and around lakes.

I had timed my visit for the autumn, hoping to capture some of the fall color magic that permeates this Park during this season. However, neither the colors nor the weather was cooperative. Nevertheless I still managed to find moments of zen in the crowded season in this small park.

Acadia National Park
ME USA

A National Parks Journey - Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Typically, the parks established east of Rockies during the early days of the National Park System tended to be small urban parks, carved out from the desire to have scenic open spaces near to home, especially for recreation, rather than with the goal of preserving a unique slice of the landscape such as the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. Cuyahoga was one such park of the former type, nestled between major urban areas, and its story is rooted in the environmental and social movements of the 20th century. Its creation is about not only providing a refuge from the urban wilderness but restoring a landscape to be culturally vibrant, less polluted, a better home for wildlife, and a model for sustainable living.

And that was why, even though it was an arms throw from urban areas, I found places of solitude. I had visited the park during the fall season, hoping to escape the maddening crowds of a major college campus I was studying at that time. During this season, this midwest park takes on a new color scheme, covered in golds and yellows. It also becomes remarkably quieter without the urban crowds. In wandering along numerous trails that meandered through the forests and old moss-covered rocks and stonework, I realized that it truly was a hidden gem that aspired to the goals for which the park was created

Cuyahoga Valley National Park
OH USA

Fleeting Time

During the dark days of winter, I often sit down introspecting my life that year, and get to question the ephemerality of time. This year has been a little different undoubtedly, and the pandemic has played a major role in it. Time seems to have flown a bit too quickly without much to show far, and yet the time spent in social isolation has gone far more slowly that I would have preferred. As much as I tried not to, my daily rhythm has certainly been disrupted.

This image was taken during a fall road trip two years in New England. And while I clearly remember the time I spent driving around the backroads of Vermont, I can't recollect even an ounce of what I had done during the indoor days at the start of the pandemic restrictions. Thankfully, I preserved some of the most memorable moments in my 2021 calendar created in support of the National Park foundation; you can buy it here: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/sathish-jothikumar/2021-photography-calendar/paperback/product-gpj74q.html

There is light at the end of the tunnel, and it can't come soon enough.

Woodstock

VT USA

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Shimmering Cascades of the Smokies

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If you are always racing to the next moment, what happens to the one you are in?

It had been a hectic trip until then, driving miles and miles around the Appalachian foothills, and enjoying the vast difference in scenery this place had to offer. It was easy to get the big picture, but it was hard to slow down, stop, and enjoy the little creeks, the tiny cabins, the mellow wildlife, and the gentle colors of the forest.

I did want to slow down, but in the pursuit of "seeing everything" in a limited time, I was on the verge of missing all. And so I did. I found this lovely little creek cascading under the canopy of the golden leaves of fall. And I plonked myself right in the middle, just to enjoy its gentle gurgles.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
NC USA

Underneath the Bonsai

The Autumn equinox heralds the arrival of Fall in the northern hemisphere, a season of crisp weather that transforms foliage from green to a vibrant orange, leading to perhaps one of the most beautiful synchronized show of colors in nature. Where I grew up, seasons like these didn't really exist; it was either hot and humid summers or a mildly warm winter. And hence, when I first encountered these autumnal colors (in the hilly Appalachians), I could not help but stare in wonder at it.

Since then, I look forward to fall every year. Despite the fact that it heralds the upcoming dreary winter (in the Pacific Northwest), I try to make the most of the short time when nature puts out her best colors. One such place where I seek these colors out are the Japanese Gardens in the PNW. The combination of the beautiful aesthetics, along with a microclimate that mirrors Japan, these gardens are a visual spectacle in autumn. This composition reflects the contorted trunk of a dwarf Japanese maple tree that attracts thousands to the Portland Japanese Gardens

Portland
OR USA