The Changing of the Light

Several years ago, a good friend of mine, Peter Pope, mentioned something in the early Fall during our undergraduate days at Baylor.  He said, "Oh, I love this time of year, the light is changing." I thought he was nutso, the light changing?  He tried to explain it to me, tried to point out how the light was softer, less harsh, more colorful.  I didn't get it.  It was the same sun, the same landscape, what was he talking about?

Then, a couple of years ago, my wife said the exact same thing, at the same time of year.  What was she talking about.  I still resisted, thinking there must be something in the water here in Texas that had infected their brains.  It wasn't until I read it in a photography book that my mind was opened to the possibility of the light changing. I started to notice the subtle change in the light.

While I no longer think that there is something in the water here in Texas that makes people's minds go fuzzy, I do think that it is the incredibly hot and bright Summers that make the change in light more noticeable than it was in my home state of Colorado.  This last Summer especially I noticed the nature of the light in Texas.  It is that harsh Summer sun that leaches all of the color out of the landscape.  The sun that batters down on the dry ground and leaves nothing but a bleached horizon, painful to the eyes.

Hurrah, the light is once again changing in central Texas bringing with it the glories of Fall.  Football is in full swing, temperatures are no longer flirting with triple digits (although mid 90s are still a real possibility), pumpkins have arrived at the supermarket, and school is rumbling along.  I love this time of year, a time to finally take respite from the long hard Summer and finally enjoy the outdoors.