Earth and sky. Beauty above and below. I made this multiple exposure image on top of a mountain during a late autumn trip to West Virginia – where seedheads and trees and ground were all heading into winter’s rest.

In this layered landscape, we still see warm autumnal tones. But veins of bare branches crisscross the upper part of the scene, etched into it like delicate calligraphy. The glowing field of burnt orange and rust reflect the late afternoon sunlight. And on the ground, we see mossy greens and yellows – of life persisting under decay. Here, forest and memory and surface erosion merge into a single, dreamlike place.  

The scene has a quiet, smoldering intensity. It is how I felt being there – “feeling” the autumn ebb. It was bitter cold. And an early snowfall was only hours away.

Here is the amalgam of life: growth, fall, accumulation, dissolution. Stay a minute and drink in one of the last moments of the year – as we head into 2026.