Leaves on the ground, 2025 edition

It was 2020 when I first did a post on what I might describe today as a "study" of fallen autumn leaves on the ground. The idea came to me spontaneously while out for my daily two-mile walk. I liked it so much, I actually did two posts on the subject, and they went live on back to back days. 

A few days ago, the urge to repeat the exercise came to me, again while I was out on my walk, so I decided to do this post, a 2025 version ... and possibly make it an annual autumn tradition at Photo Potpourri. I'm going to limit this year's study to just one post.

Most of the leaves in this post were taken at various points on my own property or the street in front of the house. A few were captured elsewhere in the neighborhood, but probably not more than four or five at most (and probably fewer). 

I made a point to integrate a half-dozen or so shots of very small leaves, something you might not be able to detect unless I otherwise indicate. The last five in this post were among that group. 

One other thing is new to this shoot, and it came in post-processing. I boosted contrast in the majority of the shots to give them a different look. And in the case of the photo leading off the post, I also boosted the saturation to flesh out the multiple colors that attracted me to the leaf in the first place. 

To view the full gallery of leaves I shot on this year's project, follow the link in this sentence. You'll notice that I added six leaves at the bottom of this post in November, including the last one, which is a poison ivy leaf.  

THE FOLLOWING WERE ADDED ON NOV. 14, 2025

Autumn colors just starting here in NC

 

I've heard (and seen, through pictures) from my friends and family back in Indiana that fall colors there are in full glory, which is not surprising. I recall taking a swing through Indy's Garfield Park on this very date in 2004, and the colors were vibrant that day.

Leaves are just now starting to turn colors here in North Carolina. Leaves on trees are still mostly green, but fallen leaves -- as you can seen in the pictures in this post -- are colorful. The second photo below, which focuses on the leaves on the roof alongside my office window -- are almost all yellow, orange or brown. 

It has been a while since I added a post to my "View from the Office Window" series, so I figured these would be a nice change of pace, at least short term. This was a quick turn-around; I shot these pics with my iPhone 11 only 10 minutes before I activated this post. That might just be a speed record for Photo Potpourri. 

If nothing else, the pictures show how foliage on the Crepe Myrtle tree just outside my office has gotten denser still the last "View from the Office Window" post, leaving me little open view of the detached garage in the distance. 

I have been immersed in several projects for the past few months. The that has consumed most of my team mostly involved writing, but there were some pictures involved as well. I completed that project early this month. 

Two of the projects I'm currently juggling involve lots of pictures, although none of them are from recent or new photo shoots. All of these projects are keeping me busy in my mostly stay-at-home days while riding out the COVID-19 pandemic. 

I'll be presenting samples of one of those picture projects in this blog in the next week or so. This project entails revisiting a photo shoot from 2011.  

In the interim, enjoy this small and brief glimpse of a North Carolina autumn in COVID 2020. 

Charm, church, chimes ... and fall colors found at Chapel Hill's Southern Village

Autumn colors are really starting to show in North Carolina this week, and I thought to take along my camera on a drive to Chapel Hill on Thursday.

My destination was Southern Village, a planned residential and commercial development on the Southside of Chapel Hill, but I had a feeling that at some point I'd run into a situation where I could photograph something new (to me, anyway) adorned by fall yellows, oranges and reds.

Not only did I see trees in those colors at Southern Village, but I also came across a photogenic stone facade church with a distinct bell tower on one of the marketplace's quadrants.

Christ United Methodist Church is its name, and while I was into my second or third photo, a young lady who'd seen me taking photos came toward me and asked if I was doing a project for the church. I told her no and explained my interest in photography ... and churches as subjects ... but was particularly struck by the architecture of this one.

She then began to tell me how great of a church it was, how she'd been a member since (I forget the year now), that they do a lot of charitable work, etc. I think she was making a pitch to interest in joining.

I was mindful of the autumn colors in leaves near the church, so I tried a few angles to integrate them into my shots. The one I liked the most I present at the top of this post in the lead-off position.

After  photographing the church, I decided to capture the character of the commercial portion of Southern Village, which is laid out in an oval surrounding a landscaped amphitheater at one end and a parking lot at the other. One-way traffic flows around the oval, Market Street, with additional parking available along both sides of the pavement.

As usual, click on any photo to view a larger, sharper version. A complete gallery of my shoot at Southern Village can be found by following the link in this sentence.

Photo geek stuff: I shot everything with my Canon 6D and Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens. I bracketed all my shots for three exposures to meld together later in Photomatix high-dynamic range (HDR) software during post-processing. I used the aperture priority shooting mode and tried to use ISO 160 under most circumstances, adjusting it upward in full shade conditions.

Above and next two below: Additional views of the church and its bell tower. I was around for the 2 p.m. ring, which plays the familiar Westminster chimes. 

The church's playground area (above) and separate building for offices (below). The latter is across the street from the church itself. 

Above: The steeple as seen adorned by fall colors from the far end of the Market Street oval.

Above: A slice of the west portion of the commercial district at Southern Village. 

Above: The Lumina Theater, an independent, locally owned cinema, anchors the north end of the oval.

Above: Al's Burger Shack gets rave reviews from what I've read about it. Southern Village is one of the local burger joint's two locations, the other being in downtown Chapel Hill.  

Two more slices of the commercial portion of Southern Village. Town Hall Grill and several medical offices anchor the northeast quadrant (above), while State Farm Insurance, Southern Village Pharmacy and Red Room Hot Yoga are among businesses operating out of the southeast quadrant (below). A piece of installment art sits outside near this area (second below). I didn't see any identification sign near it to tell me more. 

The Market Street oval is on a hill, so the upward angle view of the amphitheater exterior above is not a distortion. Below are stairs leading up to the amphitheater, and the second photo below shows the view of the seating area from the stage area looking north.