If I were a nature photographer, I’d be out driving through the countryside to view the fall colours. Maybe I’d stay at a hotel in Haliburton so I could be up early to catch the sweet light. But I live in the city and I’m too lazy to plan a big weekend in the countryside. Besides, if I went out of town to view the fall colours, my wife would want to come. She’d want a nice dinner. I’d drink a bottle of wine. I’d sleep late or, if I did manage to wake up early, all my shots would be crooked thanks to the wine. So I settle instead for the urban countryside, Yellow Creek to be precise, where I can see the fall colours in all their glory without having to drive anywhere. Not all the colours are natural, but they can be pretty in their own way.
The first is the closest to a straight up fall shot I’ve ever taken in Yellow Creek: a soft-focus shot of water pouring over rocks and yellow leaves. I wonder if the fallen leaves are what give the creek its name.
Moving further up the creek, I shot a reflection of the train trestle in the water. I like the painterly effect the rippling water produces.
Autumn in a Toronto ravine wouldn’t be the same without maple leaves and plastic garbage.
An empty can of spray paint lying under the St. Clair St. bridge isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of autumn. But what if the paint is yellow/orange?
The trail up Yellow Creek comes out at Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Guarding the entrance to the west side from Mount Pleasant Road is the Steve Stavro monument, an A-list example of memorial kitsch. The whole thing is topped off by an equestrian statue of Alexander The Great which I’ve caught here with flaming leaves coming out the horse’s ass. I’ve left instructions with my wife that when I die she is to commission a bronze statue: a six inch tall likeness of me riding a feral hamster.
