Wood Nymph

I needed excuses to do two things today: to practice using Lightroom, and to wear my "new" hippie dress that I acquired this weekend. So I grabbed my camera and tripod and headed off into the woods, just off of a trail near the house where we like to walk the dog.

It's sort of sunny but cold today, and the sunlight was playing tricks as it filtered through the ever changing leaves in the soft morning breeze. Hues of gold and orange touched everything on the forest floor, and I felt like the floaty cotton dress was alive as I danced through the birches. It was a quiet way to clear my head today; a simple but effective practice in patience and self-love, as I set and reset the timer on my camera, running and skipping and repeating shots a dozen times each.

And now it's another piece of the puzzle in the learning process, as I gave Lightroom another go. I was going to separately edit in Photoshop and compare the two, but I think I'll keep pushing myself to learn if I don't allow myself another option. It is quicker, I have to say. And the lack of precision in the editing process forces me to think more about the composition while I'm taking the photo.
All in all, I loved the fairytale lighting in the trees today. It's one of those moments that I was genuinely happy to be by myself, alone with the sunshine and my thoughts.

August Showers

I love the smell of the woods after a rain. Especially an autumn rain, filled with the robust late summer foliage and hint of berries and living creatures. The beginning of the end, with the season of bare trees and fallen leaves just around the corner.

After a day and a half of steady rainfall, there was finally a chance to escape the indoors and take a hike. I fell in love with the birch lined paths, the tall ferns with their tips beginning to change to red and amber. The smell of wet wood and moss, that otherworldly mist that rises off of everything. After the rain... it just might be my favorite time of all.

Off the Beaten Path

Unexpected treasures in unexpected places... one of the things I love about living in this city. A foggy, damp Sunday afternoon proved to be the perfect time to explore some woodland trails, without even leaving Brooklyn. The foliage seemed even more brilliant against the gray sky backdrop, and smelled like memories of wandering and playing in the woods back home as a child. For a moment, we forgot that we were surrounded by tall buildings and busy streets. 

I love November. 

Take a Hike

You never know what you might find.