The story behind the story…so to speak. Since I believe that every image taken is a chance to tell a story, preserve a slice of time...that by every means we have as photographers, the image should have something to say or tell to the viewer. At times that story may be obvious and upfront and at other times it may be subtle or even mysterious. That is the beauty of image making isn’t it. Trying to communicate a story in ways that only you the photographer can imagine as you compose through your viewfinder. Believe me, only you will see an image for its clearest meaning. Which makes your responsibility as a photographer that much more daunting. Being able to have your story universally understood by all viewing and experiencing your images is truly a dream…maybe an impossible dream I might add…but as image makers we never give up trying.

The story behind the story today is about the image that appears at the top of my Blog Page. About mid-way through the 2011 fall color season in my area of the world I took a long afternoon hike in one of my favorite local get-away locations. A National Park along the Potomac River called Great Falls. In the upland forest area of the park which is a few hundred feet above the river and a few hundred yards inland, there are a series of hiking trails that traverse the uplands and flats long ago formed by retreating glaciers. On this afternoon the fall colors on the hardwood trees were becoming muted, a few days past their peak.  Sunlight was low in the sky like it should be an hour before sunset. At the top of one trail intersection, off to the west, was a stand of oaks and maples that were a dull yellow hue almost approaching brown. But the warmth of the setting sun gave the trees a wonderful seasonal feel. I wanted to represent the landscape before me in a way that was not too specific in detail but a blend of the "feel" of that moment. So I choose to shoot multiple exposures by tracking down the height of the trees selecting one tree trunk with the idea to merge multiple shots into a single blended image in Photoshop. The result was very pleasing to me. I blended about 23 individual images followed by  some contrast and curves adjustments resulting in what you see at the top of my blog page.

For me, the result represents what I felt and saw visiting the park that day…nothing more and nothing less. The image tells me about the waning vibrancy of the fall colors while heading into a very uncertain future winter season. Beautiful!

Michael Austin Kane