Fall & Autumn, Part II- On the Road

Fall & Autumn

Fall is a very interesting word. After this month, I personally prefer autumn. In the last month fall meant something else to me than to most in October. It meant an injured back, missed classes and physical therapy. So, as I feel much better from that and am pushing on at full speed again I'd like to share some of the better parts of this autumn and enjoy these last days before New York freezes up for the winter months.

On to autumn, autumn has overall been good to me. I got hired an intern at IBM, I'm doing well in my classes (even after missing a good number) and I've gotten back into the photography again. This summer I may have taken many shots, but it was more task-oriented rather than art. The art of photograph happens in a millisecond and also takes hours. While the image may be recorded on to your digital or celluloid recording device (both are great) in a split second, the adaptation, manipulation and life of that image has just begun.

Digressing back to my fall for a moment, what was the reason behind it? I was in a rush. My key didn't work in the door. I was frustrated. Angry. I turned around and fell on slippery steps. It was scary. All that rushing can not only be bad for you literally it makes us miss a lot of great things. So, as I traveled quite a bit throughout the Hudson Valley on weekend adventures, and doing routine tasks, I tried to stop. Look around and snap some pictures.

The pictures that I am including here today came from a weekend that started out rushing. Trying to get a tire replaced on my car. Shop. Stress. Not fun. Then my wonderful girlfriend and I decided to meander up to a bookstore and through the farm country of the Hudson Valley and explore and enjoy the world that is around us. The American car-focused culture can lead to a tunnel vision, the same places and faces blur together as we rush from work to appointments, classes and home. Instead of finding freedom behind the wheel it is easy to feel chained to it and become frustrated. Now, when I am stuck at one of the lights by Marist for the umpteenth time or am lost in an unfamiliar place, I stop and look around and try to see the beauty and be mindful of the moment.

I'm including a few pictures from Poughkeepsie and from that Saturday drive to show a contrast of night and day. Town and country. I enjoyed capturing these moments and hope that they highlight some of the things that we often don't allow to stop and notice.