My new portfolio featuring photos from the 2022 fall season
What you'll find below is a small sampling of text and photos from my first-ever (and free!) ebook, An Explosion of Color. For the best viewing experience of the complete portfolio of images and backstories, please head to my Free Downloads page and download the ebook.
By downloading the ebook, you'll find over 30 photos in addition to what you see below, as well as 15 short essays providing additional details about several of the included images.
Introduction
Although this portfolio includes new work from one of my favorite locations in southeast Oklahoma, its primary focus is on the fall colors I photographed within my local park on the outskirts of Fort Worth, Texas.
As I’ve shared online and in my newsletter, things did not go as planned for my October and November photography trips. Around the beginning of October, we discovered a large lump on one of our German Shepherd’s back legs and – sparing too much of a side story – she ended up needing surgery and, eventually, radiation treatments. Thankfully, the surgery went well, but the recovery phase was a little rough, forcing me to cut my trip to Oklahoma short after only one full day of shooting.
I also ended up cancelling my long-planned trip to southwestern Utah. That was a tough pill to swallow, but there was no way I could justify leaving for a 2,000-mile roundtrip adventure while my partner tried to manage vet visits and all the uncertainty surrounding our dog’s health at the time.
In a twist of fate, it turned out that cancelling that Utah trip provided me with the opportunity to dedicate a significant amount of time to photographing what was a surprisingly wonderful fall season right at home.
The official kick-off date for me was a rare foggy morning on November 7th and, thankfully, I didn’t have any other obligations to prevent me from getting out to shoot. Color was just starting to make an appearance, and the fog – as usual – didn’t last terribly long, but I was still able to get a few “keepers,” including one of my favorite photos of the year.
I returned a few weeks later and quickly found myself flabbergasted by the explosion of color that was taking place. Within a few minutes of hiking, I was literally surrounded by possibilities. It was one of those wonderful outings where you can find potential compositions seemingly every 10 feet!
Oklahoma - A Trip Cut Short
As previously noted, I only had one full day to explore one of my favorite parks in southeastern Oklahoma (I was originally due to camp there four days with a friend).
That being said, it was a highly productive day, as you’ll see in the free ebook portfolio, where you'll find nine more photos and four additional backstories. As with my Texas files from the fall, I likely have some hidden gems that are worth further consideration, but I certainly have no complaints with what I’ve been able to come away with so far from such a short visit.
Texas - The Rarity of Fog
Here in flat, dry north Texas, I’d guess we’re lucky to see one or two days of fog per year. Fortunately, one such day happened to come about at the start of fall color at my local park in Fort Worth.
While such conditions are always welcome for the woodland photography I create close to home, they can also present a challenge as the fog we see is often thick enough that the sun struggles to filter through, often resulting in very flat light. That was the case on this day, but I still walked away with one of my favorite photos of 2022, which you can find in the ebook.
Texas - An Explosion of Color
And now we move on from the realm of nuance and subtlety to a veritable symphony of light and color.
Enjoy roughly 30 more photos in the ebook, and the full collection of short essays discussing several of the photos.
Final Thoughts
Producing something like this ebook is a new venture for me, and I hope you will appreciate it. In the past, I have shared my work and the accompanying stories for individual photos or galleries exclusively on this website and social media. While those outlets have their advantages – indeed, I’ll still be utilizing them – they can also lack design cohesiveness and feel far less personal.
By offering this collection as a downloadable ebook, you can view it on any device without worrying about connectivity, screen size, or resolution (which can significantly alter the layout online). This format also eliminates distractions such as site menus, navigation prompts, and load times.
I hope you enjoy this new offering!
