Sunset

Fall color shots generally take place at the so-called Golden Hour, the time when the setting sun drops far enough to send long attractive shadows across the landscape. The end of the Golden Hour, of course, would be sunset. What more could we ask of a Grand Finale?

Color Everywhere

Look down and see a twig with some perfectly burnt leaves. Look up and see the waning sun preparing to set. Fall in the Forest Preserve features color, everywhere.

Muted Colors

Muted colors were all around in Churchill Woods. Muted, that is, until you took a second look. Then they were peaceful, but vibrant. Even in the simplest places, such as tree bark or a footbridge.

Nearing Sunset

One image that is all about size -- a huge sun jest setting into the bare branches of the trees -- and one looking the other way. As the sun began to set, the view across the pond became quite blue. Rather than the obvious sun, here the key is the great blue heron. He can be found somewhere on the left side, standing on a branch.

Color of the Sun

Here we see Churchill Woods so bathed in bright fall sunshine that even the bare trees show strong color with their bark. Two scenics that in a more normal November might have been drab and lifeless look instead colorful and alive.

Color in the Woods

On the way to a travel seminar, with the weather so unseasonably warm and beautiful, I left two hours early with the intention of catching up some some late-fall color. My first stop was Churchill Woods in Lombard and Glen Ellyn, a quiet place with some beautiful color.

We generally expect our fall color to be in the leaves, but much of the color at Churchill was in the rest of the vegetation rather than in the leaves, most of which were already fallen.