A few days ago, I made a trip to the Dagmar Wildlife Management Area hoping to catch a nice sunrise. My first stop was Gator Pond to wait for the sun to come up. The water was shrouded in fog, and I thought the fog would add a nice element to the scene by capturing the colors of the sunrise light. I continued waiting, but the fog was thicker than I realized. I looked at my watch and saw it was several minutes past the time the sun was supposed to come up, but the pond was still covered in the drab gray fog. I decided it was time to move on.
As I continued on, I spotted a few patchy areas of autumn color on some of the trees. I made my way to Hickson Lake hoping the leaves of the tupelo and cypress trees were beginning to change color. But, the leaves were still green and were showing no signs of change. So, having spent the better part of two hours in the area, it was time to head back home.
As I drove back, I noticed this section of the road in which the trees had created a canopy of limbs and leaves. I was mesmerized and had to stop and photograph it. I set my tripod in the middle of the road, mounted my camera, and took the shot.
When I got home and reviewed the picture, I began seeing something a little bit different than the shot I took. I envisioned a softer scene in which someone could imagine themselves walking down that quiet road lost deep in their own thoughts. A place where someone might want to go to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life even if only for a few minutes.
I opened the image in Adobe Camera Raw and, using the adjustment brush, reduced the exposure and clarity of the tree line along the road while increasing the exposure in a small area at the end of the road. I then opened the picture in Photoshop and cloned out some distracting elements. Finally, I applied the Indian Summer filter found in the Google Nik Collection to change the color of the leaves from shades of green to various shades of orange.