This picture was taken at Fall Creek Falls on fall break. I was so excited about going this year, since last year I was recovering from my broken hip and didn't get to go. This means that I haven't been there since I got my DSLR and starting taking pictures as a hobby. The forecast looked good with only a small chance of rain. So I was thinking beautiful pictures of clear blue skies and fall colors. That didn't happen. It didn't rain but it was just cloudy with only a few breaks of sun. It was also very cold.
I took this picture on the only bike ride I took around the lake since it was so cold and that made bike riding really challenging. I remembered what I had read in several photography books and blogs that clouds act like a big soft box, which means you can get more intense colors. The trick is to get as little of the sky as possible. In this picture there is no sky and the colors of the leaves are reflected in the water.
The past several months have been filled with cloudy days, both literally and figuratively. It seems that every time I did have a little time on a weekend to take pictures it was raining. The semester has been difficult. I had a new textbook for every course, which wasn't my plan - I was only expecting one new textbook. I was always creating lessons and could use very few without major changes. The Saturday before Thanksgiving, Aunt Doris passed away. This meant big changes in plans and then these changed again several times because of snow. So my days have been cloudy. And the clouds intensified my view of my gifts. I have a wonderful family and a wonderful church; I have this new hobby of photography. My prayer is that I will let God use cloudy days to show me the intense, beautiful colors of his world.