Autumn, with its breathtaking array of red, orange, and yellow leaves, has long been celebrated as one of nature's most glorious spectacles. However, climate change is causing subtle yet profound shifts in many aspects of the environment, threatening the vibrant displays we have come to love. As temperatures rise and weather patterns shift, the ecological cues that signal trees to change their leaf colours are being disrupted, altering the timing, intensity, and duration of the seasonal changes we love so much. (Here’s a link to an article on the Science of Autumn Colour I wrote some time ago)

It's estimated that autumn colour might well be delayed by up to a month in comparison with the last century, and these changes will continue as seasons lengthen and more droughts force early leaf fall. As time passes, the environment will start to suit different trees, but it takes centuries for these new ecologies to develop.

I’m as guilty as anybody of looking back at a season and thinking “I should have done more”* and so I can heartily agree with Eric Bennett’s article in this issue and his final advice of “Don’t allow for this coming fall—or any season for that matter—to just go by ever again.”

*A first capture from my new DJI Mini 4 Pro - a frame from a video

Click here to download issue 290 (high quality, 150Mb)

Click here to download issue 290 (smaller download, 73Mb)

Tim Parkin

Issue 290

Click here to download issue 290 (high quality, 150Mb) Click here to download issue 290 (smaller download, 73Mb) more →

End frame: 2.56pm, 1st January 2018 by Chris Harrison

The photograph (a single image) is the view through a very damp and smeary window on the top of a double decker bus. I think anyone who has spent time on a fuggy bus journey on a wet winter day can relate to the condensation dripping down the windows and the blurry view of slow traffic and wet people scurrying around below. more →

Never Again

Don’t allow for this coming fall—or any season for that matter—to just go by ever again. Take a closer look at the leaves all over the ground. Stop and smell the fragrance of damp earth and decaying foliage. more →

Joseph Rossbach

He made the decision to commit to nature photography relatively early, and we talk about how he has made a career of it. more →

Flux: Celebrating the Complexities of Yorkshire Woodland

‘Flux’ is the first exhibition by Geraint Evans. It aims to raise funds for the Leeds Hospital Charity, the fundraising arm of the Leeds Cancer Centre. more →

On the Artist’s Selfishness

Being selfish at the right time and in the right dosage can be positive because, very often, when life's desires are not met, people implode, causing all sorts of problems and suffering to the people closest to them. more →

Solitude, Socialisation & Collaboration

I know that there will always be days when that feeling of isolation will visit me and will fill me with sadness, anxiety, and possibly temporary depression. That is simply the way it is, and the challenge is to manage and minimise those occasions in whatever way possible. more →