The Seasons at Emery Park, a Year-Long Photo Project

May 09, 2013  •  Leave a Comment

Summer sunrise over Emery Park alley.Summer Alley at Emery Park One project is finished. Last summer I admired this alley at Emery Park and liked how it almost created a tunnel over the road. The warm light of the rising sun was bouncing around in the leaves of the tree tops, the park was empty, and it was a great feeling

Right then and there I decided I would keep an eye on this place throughout the year and try to capture the four seasons there. And ever since, it's been fun. I made it to the park way more than the four minimum times. I kept coming back for sunrises, autumn foliage, creeks, waterfalls, disc golf, and fresh air!

Autumn is definitely a wonderful season here as it is in many other New York State parks. The abundance of deciduous trees fills the park with many colors. And since there are different types of trees the colors vary nicely from greens through yellows and oranges all the way to deep reds. And that is my most favorite time in the fall, before the greens disappear. While the colors may seem more intense in the later stages of fall to me they lack the contrasting element the green foliage provides, something to set them off, something to highlight their beauty.

Autumn - fall sunrise over Emery Park alley.Yellow Alley at Emery Park In the photo here, the leaves up on the trees were in their green & yellow stage but the dried ones lining the road down on the ground provided the hint of orange. And yes, the still healthy and saturated green meadow nicely completed the scene.

No, I did not stand at the same spot. First, I did not mark up my tripod legs, and second, I enjoyed finding the best spot for each season. Maybe four identical images with just the season changing would look great but I really enjoyed trying to find the best angle over and over again. And despite this particular project being completed now I am sure I will be back on this road looking for new takes on the now familiar scene.

The contrast between summer and autumn is great but the season that follows is a jump impossible to beat. From the most colorful season of all right into a season when one often can't tell color photography from black and white.

Winter sunrise over Emery Park alley.Emery Park Alley in Winter The winter scene here is not devoid of color though. The tree trunks warm up the scene with light brown tones and there's a hint of green in the background compliments of the coniferous tree group by the turn. Still, the difference is striking.

Seasons are one of the reasons to revisit locations. Places can look so different based on the time of year. Out of all factors, like weather, time of the day, physical changes of the place, and more, seasons probably change a place the most (well, natural and other disasters do too but I am thinking of predictable changes one can plan for here).

The early winter morning was probably the most intense though thanks to the truly fresh air. Something about freezing air makes it smell and feel fresher. 

So how does this story end? Since a new season recently made it to Western New York in full force and the buds quickly turned to leaves and blooms popped up everywhere, it was time to come for one last season and capture the glory of spring!

Spring sunrise over Emery Park alley.Spring Alley at Emery Park Have fun season hunting!


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