Fall Colors. A Lesson in Perspective.

These days, so many of us get our information from social media including, of course, learning how the fall colors are coming on. Thing is, for every beautiful photo and positive comment, there is someone sharing their dull, bland and grey photo to prove it’s not beautiful yet at all. That’s the way of social media, isn’t it?? And it certainly isn’t helpful. So who’s right? Is it or isn’t it? Is this the weekend you make the big drive? Well, let’s take a deeper dive into fall color perspective…

Is Your Glass Half-Empty or Half-Full?

The colorful photo at the top of this page was taken yesterday, October 16th, on Devil’s Lake State Park’s south shore road. About 10 minutes earlier I was on the north shore boat landing and I took the grey, dingy photo of the east bluff above! So BOTH can be true.

What is peak?

People don’t always agree on what “peak” means at Devil’s Lake. Is peak when the park entrance road is golden? Is it when the hillsides are burnt orange and deep purple? Is it when you can find the brightest yellows, oranges, and reds on the trails? Is it, when the viewing is best without leaving your car? Thing is, the Baraboo hills have a mix of deep valleys, open woods and higher elevations, each with their own micro-climates and each with their own”color clock”. Often when “Peak” is reported in the area, some of the best bright and colorful trails, have already lost all of their leaves while other popular spots are still not at their best.

Our Approach

I try to come at this in multiple ways. First, by talking in a range of days, a week or so, combining the most color with the best weather forecasts, not just a “peak weekend” and second by sharing lots of photos from different perspectives so that you can decide what inspires you.

Best Views

So far here on DevilsLakeWisconsin.com and on social media, I’ve been posting photos from on the trails and in the woods around the park. Of course part of the photography addiction is looking for beauty including; good lighting, bright colors, a mix of contrasts, angles and all that good stuff. These photos show the best of what’s out there and what YOU can see if you look for it.

Staying on the road

On the other hand, if you don’t get out on the trails looking for awesome colors and just drive the main roads, what you see may be quite different, and that inspired today’s photos.

Road Gallery

For this gallery, I made a couple of rules. 1. Stay on the blacktop. 2. Don’t “frame” the shots too much, meaning I’d more or less just point and shoot. So if I don’t leave my car, and I just sort of “click” without worrying about framing or expressing the beauty, here’s what I get…

I think you’ll agree that perspective makes a big difference. Beauty, after all, is in the eye of the beholder.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Yes, but what about THIS WEEKEND??

As you can see, lots of great colors out there. Some areas are not going to hit “peak” by the weekend and other areas will be perfect right now. But who wants to see fall colors in the rain? The forecast has changed since I last shared it on Monday, now it looks like THURSDAY, FRIDAY and SUNDAY will be the good weather days! Here’s the forecast.

As I said earlier in the week, if it were me, I’d come sooner than later while I can still choose bright colors and a good weather day! I wouldn’t wait for an official peak at the risk of missing it anyway due to cold, wet, windy weather which is common this time of year.