I love the colors of fall. In Southern California we don't get to see the changes of the seasons as clearly as other parts of the country. Southern California is in a Mediterranean Biome, named so for it's similarity to the climate around the Mediterranean. Our weather is fairly constant. If it were not for temperature changes, rain and the calendar, you may not know a season has changed. This shot was taken on one street, in the span of one block as you drive through a quite West Los Angeles neighborhood. You turn the corner to see the full colors of fall. If it weren't for the Pumpkin Patches with pumpkins, bales of hay, pony rides and petting zoos to mark the change, we might not know. This is Hollywood after all, and we see the faux fall in every window dressing, mall and convence store, to remind California Transplants of home. Us natives some times forget that these colors are naturally occurring. Seeing the fall colors appear a few miles from the beach is wonderful and over the top.
Over the Top, is the theme for Week 46 of the MCP 52 Project. Because this is such a rare sighting I just take it all in. I surveyed the range of colors and shades provided by the leaves, grass, and trees. I felt the cold crisp air on my skin and smelled of moisture that hung in the air. In my mind, I heard the lyrics from the Van Morrison song, Moon Dance, "the leaves on the trees are falling to the sound of the breezes that blow". It makes this shot and the others I took of this Autumn Apparition a fantasy of colors and a reminder of places far from this little block. The Structure, which is the theme I chose for this years 52 Project, is the structure of the seasons. The cycle of "Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall", another lyric, from the song writing by Carole King and made popular by James Taylor, You Got a Friend, is what the seasons are about, even if the changes are subtile. I hope you like my photos. And I hope you enjoy the Fall season as much as I do.
