Montseny in November, #30, Catalunya, 2020
30 Seconds of Calm, Anyone?
I’m guessing you (like me) could use a bit of meditative calm right about now, amidst the mayhem, bedlam, and madness of the human world, what with Covid-19 lurking about, a nasty and bizarre election, financial and employment worries, our personal trauma burdens, and so on, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera…
The Montseny Massif, just over an hour’s drive from Barcelona could be a nice choice–best on a weekday to avoid the hectic cap de setmana (weekend) crush.
The end of October through the first few days of November is likely a fine window for an autumn slalom up the switchbacks to breathe some clean mountain air, heavy with the nostalgic scent of falling reds and yellows.
Montseny – Autumn Photo Essay
This year, the first week of November appeared to be just past the peak color date. (These pictures were all made on the 2nd and the 4th of November.) Still, there was plenty of visual candy to occupy the photographer’s eyeball. Half of these images were made while handholding the Nikon D850 while the other half (water, mostly) were shot atop a tripod.
Note the number of bare trees in this November 2nd panorama. Still, the very subtlety of the palette, outlined by the lengthening shadows, was worth a picture. A few cirrus clouds would have been nice, but that wasn’t within my power to arrange:
Montseny Autumn, #21, Catalunya, 2020
It’s challenging to look for patterns, shapes, angles, and forms to insert into the rectangular viewfinder amid the apparent chaos of leaves, limbs, tree trunks, roots, and puddles…
Montseny Autumn, #1, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny Autumn, #8, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny Autumn, #9, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny Autumn, #23, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny Autumn, #29, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny in November, #22, Catalunya, 2020
Now, focusing on the creek, we start with two different perspectives of the primary waterfall you will encounter here… The slides, gurgles, and falls farther along the vale vary so much in character it is often hard to “see” the best possible composition. I experimented with a variety of shutter speeds, looking for what I thought to be the most pleasant effect…
Montseny in November, #24, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny in November, #4, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny in November, #6, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny in November, #8, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny in November, #16, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny in November, #10, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny in November, #13, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny in November, #15, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny in November, #17, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny in November, #18, Catalunya, 2020
Montseny in November, #19, Catalunya, 2020
A Monochrome Postscript
A fall foliage excursion amb camera usually doesn’t include the making of black and white images as color is such a critical compositional element. There are exceptions every now and then, though (just ask Ansel).
Here were the only three I found during these two days atop Montseny…
Montseny Autumn, #9 (Roots), Catalunya, 2020
Montseny Autumn, #25 (Silver Limbs), Catalunya, 2020
Montseny in November, #21 (Subterranean View), Catalunya, 2020
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