Fall has always been my favorite season.  This year I was more into photography than ever before, and not only did I get out more, I also noticed the subtle change in colors that occurs a lot earlier and runs a lot later than most people think.  One can first notice the subtle change in colors here in Northern Illinois beginning in the middle of August – maybe even earlier.  From the middle or end of May to the Fourth of July or so you have what I call the “period of unimaginable greenness.”  Everything is super green, growing!  As time goes on things go to seed, the green dims and fall colors slowly start to come out.  The earliest to change is wild Tobacco, a small common weed often found in fields and along highways.  It turns a deep brown, almost black, in late June or early July.  But by the middle of August one can definitely see the dimming of the greens turning to fall colors.  Things gradually change, until you have the maxed out colors of late October and early November – however the maxed out stage doesn’t last that long, so if that’s all you see your autumn is short!

I took this photo at Nelson Lake Marsh (Dick Young Forest Preserve) on October 20, 2009 – the colors were just coming out.  It wasn’t a particularly good year for max color – the maples were great, super bright yellow, however overall it was muted and short.  I took this picture because I liked the subtle range of colors – not bright – especially the mauve in the tallest tree – quite an odd color!  At this time there was still a lot of green, some plants had lost all there leaves and some were in some stage of color.  In fact, this fall everything seemed dragged out – things still green when others had already lost all their foliage.  That can clearly be seen in this image, with the green grass and trees in the background, some bare trees and some with color!

Subtle Autumn Color