Autumn Colours?
The subject of these three images is that gnarled old cherry tree that stands at the end of Rowan Lane. Its best years are behind it, yet the twisting form of its branches and the rough bark of its trunk continue to make it a favourite for our local photographers and artists. What the tree may lack in vitality, it more than makes up for in shape and texture.
Photographing it is never easy. Cars and buildings intrude into almost every angle, and the tree’s central position makes isolation tricky. In this sequence, I’ve used the backdrop of the surrounding autumn foliage to screen out the distractions and let the tree stand proud.
Image 1 – The RAW Capture
The unprocessed RAW image
The first image is the untouched RAW file, shot on an iPhone using the Project Indigo App. Like all RAW captures it is flat and somewhat lifeless, recording information without interpretation. It’s a starting point, not an end.
Image 2 – Colour Processed
The processed colour image
In the second version, I’ve processed the file to bring out the richness of the season. Autumn is famous for its palette, so I’ve boosted the reds, oranges, and golds in the background trees. This treatment places the old cherry in context — a fading presence amid the vibrant drama of autumn.
Image 3 – Black & White
Stripped of colour, form, texture, and line.
But my current focus is black-and-white photography. Stripped of colour, the image becomes about form, texture, and line. The aged bark, the twisted limbs, and the starkness of the cherry tree’s decline come forward without distraction. To me, the monochrome version best expresses the dignity of the tree in its final years.
And so, the question: Autumn Colours?
Do we celebrate the season’s spectacle, or do we strip it away to reveal the quiet truth of a tree nearing the end of its life? My own preference is for the black-and-white rendering — but I know many will be drawn to the warmth and vibrancy of colour.
After all, autumn is about both: the glory of colour and the poetry of decay.