Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Nature (Leaves and Reflections Photomontage)

05 December 2016

Lens:

1. Autumnal Leaves and Reflections Photomontage; Copyright © 2016 Sally W. Donatello All Rights Reserved

2. Autumnal Leaves and Reflections Photomontage; Copyright © 2016 Sally W. Donatello All Rights Reserved

Let me know which you prefer and why. Click on image to enlarge.

Pens:

There is a point within the later days of this season when the landscape is saturated with autumnal presence, and the promise of warmer days are stilled for months. The shorter days affect moods, and usher into our lives a rearrangement of outdoor activities. Oh, only a few weeks before the days begin their ascent toward spring.

The land is no longer alive with hues that perk our visual universe. We must be satisfied with more monochromatic tones. Scenes of plenty are quiet, and it’s time to concentrate and focus on an inner culture of hibernation and transition.

Today, as in the last few, is encumbered by winds and grey skies. But sway in the treetops take my thoughts away from the chill, and push my sights to the last of the acorns and leaves bouncing and drifting downward. The winds are fierce and strip the trees almost bare of foliage.

On the ground and coating my gardens leaves continue their various stages of coloration, and relinquish their original duty for a new one. For a while I will be spreading these golden treasures and placing them into compose bins. I secure certain ones for drying and to watch their transformation from one kind of captivating beauty to another.

It helps to divert the mind from winter’s forecast and center on autumn’s gifts. It helps to divert my mind and center on nature as sanctuary no matter the season, no matter her apparent visual expressions and underlining stories. She is omniscience.

Tip of the Week:

“I am interested primarily in what Emerson called the integrity of natural objects. Natural places too have their integrity. They express wholeness and individuality, and it is this sense of place that is the foundation of my work.” –Philip Hyde

Along with Ansel Adams photographer Philip Hyde (1921-2006) had a strong influence on the environmental movement in the United States. From the Sierra Club’s website and description of its history, here is Hyde’s contribution: “He first photographed for the Sierra Club in 1950 as official photographer on the summer Sierra Club High Trip with David Brower. Many people refer to Philip Hyde as the underappreciated master landscape photographer of the 20th century. His photographs participated in more environmental campaigns than those of any other photographer. At the birth of the modern environmental movement, he was one of the primary illustrators of the groundbreaking Sierra Club Exhibit Format Series. He dedicated his life to defending western American wilderness, working with the Wilderness Society, National Audubon, and others. His color photographs changed landscape photography as they helped to establish color photography as a fine art…. Hyde dedicated his life to the portrayal and protection of wilderness chiefly through photography.”

Hyde’s photograph, “Cathedral In The Desert, Glen Canyon, Utah, 1964” was cited by American Photo Magazine as one of the top one hundred photographs of the twentieth century. To read more about him and see his work, click here.

“Mountains and Deserts: A Portfolio of Twelve Lithographic Prints,” 1973, by Philip Hyde

View other entries for this week’s challenge:

https://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/2016/12/05/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-nature-early-morning/

https://angelinem.wordpress.com/2016/12/05/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-falling-leaves-at-sunrise/

https://ohmsweetohm.me/2016/12/05/

https://piecesofstarlight.wordpress.com/2016/12/05/back-lit-trees-sally-ds-nature-challenge/

https://rfljenksy.wordpress.com/2016/12/05/smiles/

https://zimmerbitch.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/natural-light/

https://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/mobile-photo-challenge-nature/

https://nowathome.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-nature-false-olive/

Note:

As always I welcome comments about this post or any part of my blog. My photographs for the mobile photography challenge are taken with an iPhone 6.

****If you would like to buy a print of any of my photographs or have any questions, please view the Contact Information found on the masthead. Thank you.

If you’d like to join this Mobile Photography Challenge, please click here for details and history of the challenge. If you have any questions, please contact me. Below is a reminder of the monthly schedule with themes for upcoming challenges:

1st Monday: Nature.

2nd Monday: Macro.

3rd Monday: Black and White.

4th Monday Challenger’s Choice (Pick One: Abstraction, Animals, Architecture, Food Photography, Night Photography, Objects, Panorama, Portraiture, Photomontage, Still Life, Street Photography, and Travel).

5th Monday: Editing and Processing with Various Apps Using Themes from the Fourth Week.