Finally Finding Fall Color in 20182 min read time

“You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So… get on your way!”
― Dr. Seuss

I was really afraid that this would be the year that I would miss seeing the really vibrant fall colors that bring my heart such joy.  Lack of color and muted colors have been all that I had been able to find this autumn.  That all changed

Saturday.

After photographing at South Mountains State Park the previous weekend, my friends and I decided that one passing week might make the colors at that location peak for this past weekend.  We were not disappointed to go back to the same spot one week later.  That amount of time had, indeed allowed the colors to progress to peak or at least near peak conditions.

Shortly after arriving in the parking lot, friends scattered throughout the park to find the scenes that displayed a variety of vibrant fall colors.

I walked across the bridge just next to the parking lot to find my first scene.

This view, upriver, showed that the colors had popped out considerably more than the previous week.

My friends and I were not alone in our quest for fall color Saturday at the park.

Although I stopped at many places along the way in order to capture the fallen leaves, color, and water, this was my favorite scene, by far.

I  had to get into quite a contorted position to frame this image in the way I wanted to frame it.

One of the great things about photographing with friends is having the opportunity to photograph them while on location.

The best things about photographing with friends are sharing their passion for photography and afterward seeing the same location from their eyes and lenses.  You can be standing in the same spot your friend stood earlier and see completely different things.

On our way back to the car after photographing, I had to stop for one final shot as my eye caught what I was seeing in a mud puddle along the way.

Fall color is currently peak in select spots in the mountains of North Carolina.  If you can, get out to enjoy it with your eyes and cameras.  The experience will be even more satisfying if you share it with friends!