Luminous Clouds and I didn't have to

and I didn't have to make any compositional changes

I'm always drawn to subjects that allow me to showcase purple because I think it’s a graceful transitional color that smooths the rough edges of life and bridges differences

Cool cascades along the Middle Prong River in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park contrast beautifully with peak fall foliage

and yellows during a winter morning

Luminous Clouds and I didn't have toI love winter. I guess it's because I grew up in southern Wisconsin, a place where the short days of December bring nightfall by about 4: 15 in the afternoon. A place where the first week of January is often notoriously cold, sometimes with many days in a row when the daytime never crests zero degrees Fahrenheit. But it's such a clarifying season. A time to rest, recharge, and see the natural world stripped down to its barest essentials. I caught this