One of the most satisfying aspects of living in Baltimore is our proximity to the woodlands and watersheds of the Chesapeake region. In less than half an hour, we can leave the city behind and escape to a quiet lakeside, a coastal vista, or a lovely clearing in the forest. And quite unlike traveling to faraway lands for landscape photography, when one visits the same locations time after time, season after season, a special kind of beauty emerges - the beauty that comes from knowing a place deeply, from understanding what parts of it change and progress over months and years, and what parts stay unyielding and eternal. In this way, photography has helped me fall in love with my surroundings here in Maryland. It has helped me discover the beauty of a place called “home”.
Here in the Mid-Atlantic, the seasons are gradual. The weather is mild, and change happens slowly. Autumn is when the natural world is the loveliest, the most fleeting, and the most profoundly affecting. It is no surprise that my favorite photos are usually created during this time, and every year, Jane and I look forward to the fall walking season - the brief span of four to six weeks when the temperature is perfect for being outdoors, the trees are ablaze with color, and no composition seems too insignificant to pass over. During these weeks, no matter how busy we are or how many consecutive days I’ve worked in the hospital, every available sunrise must be spent in the woods.
The photos from this year’s autumn set were taken on three occasions:
October 21, 2018: A walk with our friends Ali and Ashley, along the Merryman Trail on the western side of Loch Raven. The oak leaves are still predominantly green, though they shows signs of turning. We re-visit a place we first discovered in 2015 - a small waterfall barely two miles from the road, where a creek empties into an inlet of the lake. The log spanning the waterfall, which we posed on back then, has split and sunk into the water since last year, replaced by a taller fallen oak that bridges the adjoining hillside.
October 30, 2018: Peak colors here in Maryland. Taking advantage of a mid-week break from the hospital, I drive to Liberty Reservoir for sunrise. Despite several visits in preceding falls, it is my first time seeing my favorite place in the region (Piney Point) in full autumn glory. I shoot a composition with a fallen log that I first photographed in 2016 - this time from its other side, facing the nearby shore with its crown of flaming maples and incandescent birches. The images speak for themselves.
November 4, 2018: A ramble along the Buzzard Rock and Cascade trails in the Hilton and Avalon regions along the Patapsco River. From atop Buzzard Rock, it is heartening to see the ruins of Bloede Dam, which was demolished earlier in the year. After over a century, the Patapsco is finally freed, and again the migratory herring, shad, and catadromous eels have access to the river. The forest is beginning to coalesce into a sea of golden amber, and the ground cover has become soft and immense. Within another two weeks, the colors will fade to russet tones, and the crunch of the fallen leaves will herald the end of autumn, and the oncoming shoulder season before winter’s frost.
