Autumn colour on Wimbledon Common

It’s no secret that autumn is my least favourite time of the year. The shortening days and lengthening evenings generally means a curtailment of my outdoor activites - a bike ride after work, a quick ten minutes in the garden that can turn into a couple of hours without me noticing, and most of all, not needing to plan my moments for going out with my camera.

The one saving grace for me is the development of the rich colours of autumn foliage coupled with the warm tones of late afternoon sun. I have to be quick though, I think its more of a golden 30 minutes rather than the full hour.

On a sunny afternoon in the middle of October I wanted to show the bright, saturated colours and the contrast between light and shade. In art this is called chiaroscuro, using strong contrasts of light and shadow to give volume and depth to a scene.

Unlike the woman in the first photo who was completely engrossed in her book, in the moment, I prefer to keep moving. Taking my camera makes me look, at the small things, at the wider scene, and just follow the last of the sun through the trees.