This photo of a wet road curving through autumn trees in the fall — captured by Scott Caldwell during a drive through western Arkansas — borrows from many associations about journeys and seasons.
The road is directional — it has a vanishing point, it curves forward and out of sight, it literally pulls your eye into the future. Even though the fog obscures the destination, the road holds a forward momentum.
But the trees are in the middle of letting go. Autumn color is gorgeous precisely because it’s dying — that blaze of orange and red is the tree drawing its energy back inward, releasing what it no longer needs. It’s an ending dressed up as a spectacle.
The photo has a sense of “time travel” because the image holds past, present and future simultaneously. The falling leaves are the past cycle closing. The wet road under your wheels is the present moment. And that foggy curve ahead is the future — coming, inevitable, not yet visible.
“[I] have always loved photography and nature — and love being able to combine the two.”
Be sure to see Scott’s other Earth Day Gallery entries:
Artist’s Notes
A lot of my favorite photos are ordinary things in plain sight but that people often don’t take the time to notice. I like to slow down and look — really look — for the beauty in the world around us.
Have always loved photography and nature — and love being able to combine the two.
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