I have a couple of days off from work, and I planned to go out and photograph the fall trees today. Once the leaves start changing color, it isn't long before they've all fallen, so I thought I should seize the opportunity. The days are getting shorter, and knowing my tendency to sleep in, I had my camera bag all packed and ready to go with a fresh battery and memory card so I could take advantage of the limited daylight. Mother Nature had other plans for me, though. The rain started falling last night, and came down all day today in sheets. It only let up for about 10 minutes just as it was starting to get dark and I ventured outside to take two crappy snapshots from my porch.

If I want to post a picture of fall leaves, I'll have to post one from last weekend. It isn't the best picture... The light was fading and I had a hard time bringing out the color of the leaves without completely blowing out the sky.

I really hope I get a chance to photograph the maples with their bright red leaves in good light. Unfortunately it's forecast to rain again tomorrow, and all through the weekend as well.

I posted the color version of this photo on Red Bubble, where it has been fairly well-received so far. It's another photo taken in Val-des-Bois at sunset. A boat had just passed by leaving ripples in the smooth water surface. I couldn't decide whether I liked the color or the monochrome version more, so I decided to post one there and one here. In truth, I think the monochrome one may be better.

My favorite thing about this photo is its simplicity. The trees and ripples on the water are in silhouette - their presence merely suggested by black shapes.

Lately I've been trying to reduce things down to their simplest terms - not only with photography, but with life in general. I used to like only very detailed drawings and paintings - ones where you could distinctly see every leaf and blade of grass, the more detail the better. I viewed stylized art as being rather "lazy". I'm coming to realize that simplicity can be technically quite difficult and often takes more thought than creating a detailed piece. I recently saw a drawing of a tree composed of only 3 lines. This drawing was, to me, more representative of a tree than a more detailed drawing, or even a photo of an actual tree could have been. I had to laugh a little bit at the paradox of that notion. I guess that's what I'm trying to achieve with my photos.

Last weekend, we went on a photo journey to Val-des-Bois, Quebec. Up until last year, my only visit to Quebec had been a layover in the Montreal airport when I was en-route to somewhere else. Last year when I visited Ottawa, I ventured across the bridge to Gatineau. I got lost looking for the Museum of Civilization and became quite hungry wandering aimlessly around downtown Gatineau. I was afraid to stop for food anywhere because I don't speak French.

Val-des-Bois was beautiful... This scene absolutely blew my mind. Shimmering sand and rocks, fall colors, calm water and a bridge! The photo doesn't really do it justice. The light was failing by the time we got there and my landscape photography skill leaves much to be desired... but this is still one of my favorite photos.