This is the first of a series I've considered for quite some time, doing with trees what I did with the "Botanicals" series, local lilies and irises found scattered about Shreveport's "Highland" neighborhood yards.
"Trees" preceeded the other series conceptually, already a serious consideration for years and only just recently becoming practical. This specimen stands in a lawn aside Fairfield Avenue, to the east a few blocks south of Kings Highway. For most of the year, it's totally unremarkable; no different from any other tree in the area, but as I drove along one October day, I was struck immediately by the bright hue its leaves had taken with the onset of cooler weather. A few blocks past, I realized that those leaves might not last, and that I'd let too many opportunities pass already, so I took a turn and made my way back to find a good place to shoot it. I wound up having to drive by several times comparing angles, only to realize that the light through the overcast wouldn't allow what I'd hoped for. Faced with this, I drove off on my way as before, except that only moments later, there came a break in the clouds as though I'd been called back. I knew my position and drove back, grabbed the camera, except that now, breaks in the clouds altered back an forth, opening and closing the almost beam-like illumination on the bright yellow leaves I was hoping to capture. Finally, for a moment, the clouds, the color of leaves and angle of the sun all offered subtle contributions, allowing the first portrait for my series of trees.
