Autumn in SE O'Brien County

 

I was asked to write and illustrate another piece for Bleeding Heartland this past week. This one is titled "Autumn in SE O'Brien County". There are some image repeats from the last blog entry, but some new and with a story to illustrate.  Give it a read if you have a moment - I hope you enjoy it! 

https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2022/11/16/iowa-wildflower-wednesday-autumn-in-southeast-obrien-county/?fbclid=IwAR220_27D5BOwiy2nXMbme9HSmbYKUa32F19yEF45-vw0Zky7lp4RBhG754

Autumn Drought = Autumn Color!

 

Autumn Road - photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 

I really believe we are seeing the best autumn colors this fall than I've seen since we moved here 20 years ago...its been just beautiful!  We just weren't expecting it...3rd drought year in a row...listed in the "Extreme" category now, with the worst (5 out of 5) "Exceptional" creeping even closer.

According to a state arborist, we are getting great color due to the warm/mild weather preceding our first hard frost.  We haven't had any rain since then so the wind has been the only thing dropping leaves now...and its been monotonously windy since the colors came on!

 

Hale Slough - photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 

I'll leave you with some nice Fall color in NW Iowa near and not so far from our acreage.  (Click on each image for a larger view).

 

Receding Pool  and Cottonwoods - photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 

Garlock Slough - photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

Arching Autumn Colors - photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

Autumn in the Waterman Valley - photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

Happy Fall out there!   Be good to one another...

 

Part of the Process

"Little Sioux River Valley Autumn Bales No.1"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

I have been stuck in the studio "processing" all the image files from a week and a half ago; that was a busy and productive week for autumn in our "area".  Most folks don't realize all the post production work there is when working from "Raw" files...most of us shoot RAW, not JPG or TIFF...doing so preserves all the information that a file has to offer.  But a RAW file doesn't usually present the image as you would print it or use for a blog such as this or for publication, so some computer "darkroom" work is in order.

I spent many years in the darkroom professionally, way before digital imaging was even a flicker on the horizon; actually working mostly in B&W, then doing color printing and transparency film processing for roughly 30 years before I took the leap early into the digital fray. 

"Back in the day" darkroom work was inevitable - no way around it!  But even now, with digital imaging on the professional level, image processing is a necessary part of the process from exposing the image to print or publication. 

It's been overcast, damp and windy here the past 4 days, so its perfect "darkroom" time.  I would prefer to see a blue sky again soon though as I'm feeling couped up!   

A good side effect during this inside time is I get many ideas for future artwork while going through image files...paintings and drawing ideas come to me and get me even more excited!  Lets hope I can get some Autumn artwork ideas to get me through part of the Winter ahead!  

Oooh, did I just say the "W" word??!!!  Oh well, it's all part of the process!