Creek, fallen tree, fog, Catskill Mountains.

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Now that summer is over and autumn color is nearly gone, we begin to transition to the quiet bare tree days before winter comes. Although I love all of our seasons here in the northeast, I particularly like this short inter-seasonal period when nature slows down and starts to rest. Despite some unusual weather including hurricanes, I can feel a peaceful change coming over the landscape. I wrote about this in my last post Birch grove, Kaaterskill Clove. This is the time of brown earth, evergreens, and silver blue skies. A special gift nature also brings is fog. I made the accompanying photograph Creek, fallen tree, fog on December 18, 2012 in the forest behind my studio. It was late in the afternoon when fog rolled in so thick that I couldn’t resist being out in it. I loaded up my 8×10 camera and stepped into the woods. The fog also acts like a blanket helping deaden sound. There was no traffic noise, no wind. Not even a bird chirping. I made several pictures in a deep white pine forest before I came to the creek. The perfect spot to photograph revealed itself instantly. The winding creek flows past this beautiful remnant of a once huge pine now quietly returning to the earth. Just beyond, the forest opens out to a marsh and what feels like infinity. The entire time I was out there I never heard a sound. I look forward now to the rest of November and December for days like these. They are truly a gift.     www.thomasteich.com