Let’s not beat around the bush here; this photograph did not work out as I wanted it to.

What I wanted was a shot of a scary puddle,. which you would walk past at your peril, always sure that a car would come racing through, soaking you as it passed you.

But I ended up with this… the dark side of autumn.

"Through Autumn’s golden gown we used to kick our way"… yeah, right.

A good picture should tell a story. So what’s the story here?

And that’s where I ran into problems. Sure, this picture tells stories… but analysing them sounds so pretentious.

But let’s risk it. What stories do we have?

Firstly, we have the Dark Side of Autumn. Not a golden gown, but a filthy, foul bunch of decaying, dead leaves. Maybe that’s all it’s about.

And yet…

There’s another story here. Look at those reflections; the perfect symmetry. And near the middle of the picture, a little drop of rain has landed in the puddle and thrown up a ball of water, which is reflected perfectly in the puddle below. A touch of beauty and humour in an otherwise ugly shot.

Many people don’t really talk of autumn, or even spring. There’s winter, and there’s summer. And there are transitions between the two. And transitions are always awkward, and hard to understand.

But if you can find the excitement, and interest, and humour in those transitions, and revel in those positive aspects, maybe they won’t seem like something to be afraid of… no matter how ugly they may seem.

Or maybe my photograph just failed today 🙂