I have spent the last couple of weeks chasing Autumn in Arkansas. I started three and a half weeks ago with a trip to the Buffalo River. I followed that up with a trip to Blanchard Springs the following weekend. With each trip, the Autumn colors got better and better. So, when I visited Mt. Magazine for work a couple of weeks ago and saw the best colors yet, there was no way I was going to ignore them. So, a week and a half ago on a cloudy and rainy Saturday morning, I made the two-hour trip back to the area.
My first stop was at Cove Lake, a small lake near Mt. Magazine. When I arrived, there was a very light rain starting to fall, so I decided it would be a good idea to leave my gear in the truck and try to scout a nice composition before I set up my equipment. I got out, walked about 25 feet, and stopped when I saw a strange flash. Was it lightning? Was it something with my eyes? Was it something I had simply imagined? I had no idea until, about 15 seconds later, the thunder boomed, and I made the sound decision to return to my truck to wait it out.
The storm passed quickly, but the rain continued to fall albeit lightly. I grabbed my gear and, being careful to protect the front of the lens from the rain, headed to where I had spotted a good location to frame this composition.
A little further up the road, I came upon the Wildwood Chapel and Event Venue. With the colorful Autumn leaves in the background, it reminded me of a scene one might find in New England. Fortunately, it had stopped raining by this time because it took me a few minutes to find just the right spot to set up my gear.
I then made my way up Mt. Magazine, but the fog very quickly became so thick that I couldn’t see more than 20 or 30 feet in front of me. As I drove very slowly back down the mountain, the fog began to dissipate. I was able to see a couple of scenes that I thought would make for a nice photograph but, with nowhere to safely pull off the road, I decided to head back home and prepare for my next trip.