On the road at the right time of say and the sun has a powerful influence on visibility. I hate it when I’m blinded by a direct beam from the sun or when it’s suddenly reflected from shiny bumpers, windshields or mirrors, and love it when it sweeps low across the world with a hot power that makes me feel everything is as it should be. Sunlight and shadows provide details and clues about the world.
The sun also helps mitigate the feeling of cold at this time of year. Fifty degrees in the sun feels balmy compared to how it works on you under a heavy sky. And as much as I love the look of the light brought on by harsher weather a bit of sunlight is always welcome.
Autumn is rushing past and I’ve not attended to any winter riding preparations either for the machine or myself. A good cleaning and waxing is in order for the Vespa and I need to replace the zipper on my riding jacket if I hope to keep Jack Frost at bay. Shadows have life in the fall; in the summer there’s just shade but now as the leaves drop the form and structure appear. Visual cues that the days are growing shorter and winter is approaching.
This morning I had decided to make a stop at the local coffee house and get home to take care of a growing list of chores but not before I made a little meandering ride through the valley to watch the greenery give way to the falling of leaves.
Standing in this field I found myself wishing I had the view camera with me. I’ve been feeling the tug to expose sheets of film again, perhaps because I was going through boxes of gelatin silver prints. I wonder if I always get confused in the fall?
Eventually I get to Saint’s Cafe in State College, Pennsylvania where a cup of tea will take the chill from by fingers. The same long, articulated shadows are everywhere in the morning, whispering of the decline in sunlight and cold days ahead. Right now I don’t care at all but the older I get the rougher the winter is to take. I wonder how long it will be before I don’t want to venture out on two wheels to experience the world first hand…
Steve, I believe you’ll be out experiencing Winter for longer than you think right now….it’s a mindset, not a physical limitation that must be overcome, and you’ve helped me get the right perspective.
One of your pictures has inspired me, though probably not in the way intended. I think I’ll ride into town today for coffee and a snack ay Saints Café.
nice pics Steve,
nice to drop by …….a coffee & cake 20min here and alls well with the world…..it chills me out!
regards len
Nice post, as I’ve come to expect. I have to add, however, that sunlight and shadows also can obscure oncoming traffic, as you’ve probably read in my crash post.
I do love the light this time of the year, which further enriches the colorful Fall scenery. There’s a bit of urgency in the air with shortening days…..