Symphony of the Season: Photos of Fall Colors

I certainly don't purport to be Ansel Adams, not least because the nature photos I typically take are abuzz with color rather than in melancholic black and white.

I also spend a good bit more time photographing--or just traveling to see--cities and splendors created by man. But I certainly relish natural beauty and in the Chicagoland area, there are three times each year when I am likely to take hundreds of photos I've taken many times before.

In early June, I captured a kaleidoscopic display of freshly bloomed flowers, mainly roses, at the Chicago Botanic Garden, which I posted here.

And though it is a bit harder to plan for or access idyllic shooting locations, fresh snow on trees can make for exquisite pictures, perhaps a bit more in an Ansel Adams vein.

But I particularly love the explosion of color when autumn rolls around. For many years I lived close to the Morton Arboretum, and found that late October was a phenomenal time for catching a festival of colorful trees. I haven't made it out that way this year, but with the leaves already changing colors and even falling off trees, I made a point of strolling through the Ned Brown Preserve (also known as Busse Woods) along Golf Road near Schaumburg (it seems to be officially in Elk Grove Village).

With several trees already bare, or close to it, I may have been a tad late in my photographic foray, but here are a few of my best recent shots of fall foliage. (All photos copyright Seth Arkin 2012)