To celebrate the first day of fall, a group of hikers went for a hike up East Peak in Meriden to visit Castle Craig Tower. The fall season has always been dedicated to hiking because of how beautiful Connecticut’s foliage can be. Every fall, Connecticut is engulfed by vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges that consume the state’s entire landscape.
Did Summer Really Say Goodbye?
But what the hikers encountered on their first hike was that summer still appears to be here. All of the leaves, grass, and flowers greeted them with strong, vibrant variations of green. A few steps into the hike, phones came out to capture what was the lack of evidence regarding the change of seasons.
Mornings have become much cooler, and the sun is taking longer to greet early birds. The sun is setting quicker, and people are bringing in their plants because the temperature dips under 50 degrees at night. As the hikers continued to follow the trail, one of them stopped to notice one single green leaf that fell onto the path directly in front of them. This was the first visual cue that quietly announced that fall is here you just have to know where to look.
Fall Is Here; It’s Just Taking Its Time
Rather than arriving all at once, fall emerges through small changes as summer slowly gives way to it. As the hikers crossed over the walkway that connects the main park with the hiking area of the East & West Peaks, they looked up and saw a vine of red leaves crawling on top of the metal enclosure.
Once on the path towards the East Peak, there was a chipmunk that greeted the hiking group. Seeing that it was comfortable outside, the temperatures have not dropped enough to send this little creature down to its burrows.
Wildflowers continue blooming amoungst the vibrant green foliage, serving as another sign that though September is near its end, summer is still here. Throughout the hike, one of the hikers picked wildflowers and created a small bouquet. All the bouquet needed was a mason jar and a ribbon; a flower shop could sell it as a summer collection and it would be very believable.
What Does The City Say About The Seasons?
While fall arrives gradually outdoors, store shelves make the transition immediately. Halloween packaging fills seasonal displays, while outside of store doors Meriden’s forests remain predominantly green. People don’t wait for nature; retail transitions nudge us forward and make us believe that we are further along than we really are.
But if we look to nature, it will show us where we stand in the year. It may be subtle in the woods, and out of touch in our stores, but when overlooking the downtown of Meriden you can see yellows and reds beginning to slowly pop out.
Conclusion
Eman Shurbaji stated that photo essays are both narrative and pictures that drive the story. The photos support what’s in the text, a person can understand the topic without having to read text or captions.
This is why Media Shift suggested that images must be considered from the start of the reporting process, as they aren’t supposed to be made to fit; they are the medium that tells the story.
Capturing the change of seasons through photos alone would have confused readers; they would not be able to place when the photos were taken or their relevance. Including the story of the hikers and their destination gave the needed context for the photos to be understood; every small goodbye to summer becomes another hello to fall.