Bright Leaves in Late September (Digitally Edited)

Bright Leaves in Late September (Digitally Edited) Originally uploaded by randubnick

Today I realized that I have been periodically staring out the back door at a tree that has gone bright orange, less than a block away. Then I also realized that somehow it has gotten to be fall without my noticing! Maybe it was the events of last week, or too much time spent working, or perhaps the rain we have had for days and days. But in any case, I believe that we are supposed to notice the beauty in this world! So I put on my raincoat, put my digital camera in my pocket, and set out for a short walk around the block. It was still drizzling, but not raining hard. I took pictures of two trees, both on the margins of a parking lot. But never mind, they are beautiful trees, the colors are amazing, and if you look closely, you can see raindrops on the leaves. After my little one block expedition, I went inside, transferred the photos to my computer, and started editing. I cropped this image from one of the best photos. I noticed a few distracting holes or marks on a leaf or two, so I opened the image in Painter IX and did just a tiny bit of repair work with digital pastel.