Autumn Glow

Autumn Glow, a photo by JKEL on Flickr.

This one has quickly moved onto the list of my own personal favorites, and it almost never happened. I had intended to shoot at another part of Fairmount Park farther from my house, but I got a late start, and with sunset looming, I decided to head down to the river. Every year I try to come up with a Fall rowing shot - - there's just something about Autumn on the river that really speaks to me. On this day, however, I was getting really frustrated by the brush and trees that were blocking clear sight lines to the water. I kind of ended up at this vantage point by default, but WOW! The arches were on fire with the angle of the sun and I knew there was nowhere else to be. That's when the work began - -finding the right angle, and waiting for a rower to pass through, (the middle of the river, please) and being quick enough to snap it, because the bridge blocks the view of the rowers as they approach. Patience, rowers too far, patience rowers too near, patience, I screwed up, patience, got it! The Columbia Bridge might not be the most beautiful bridge on the Schuylkill, but on this day, at this time, it sang. JKEL