ENTRY DESCRIPTION
This image is inspired by an article in the Sydney Botanic Gardens March 2024 newsletter, “How Climate Change is Dulling Autumn Colours”. (https://www.botanicgardens.org.au/discover-and-learn/watch-listen-read/how-climate-change-dulling-autumn-colours#:~:text=“What%20is%20happening%20is%20the,an%20impact%2C”%20he%20said.)

Botanists at Mount Tomah Botanic Garden in the Blue Mountains (a cool climate garden) have noticed that the timing and vibrancy of autumn colours has been affected in the past several years. Colours are duller; timing & duration is off.

The article made me consider if trees in various places around the world may lose their autumn colour at some point in the future.

Autumn colouring of deciduous trees is a complex & wondrous biochemical process, triggered by changes in seasonal weather conditions. From when they are young, trees imprint cues for the range of weather conditions normal to their location in their cells & can adapt to occasional variability outside that range, adapting as they grow. Our rapidly changing climate is challenging their ability to adapt fast enough & is confusing their autumn colour response. Will trees forget autumn?

In response, I made several visits during April to a beautiful National Trust garden in Leura in the Blue Mountains, to a photogenic Japanese Maple that I have visited in previous years. The garden is approaching its centenary & this old maple is original to the garden. It would have imprinted its seasonal weather cues long before our climate changing present. So, is it more susceptible to rapidly changing seasonal weather because of its age? This is a tree I have a positive relationship with, so it motivated me to respond.

This image was made on a favourable April autumn day: crouching outstretched on a narrow stairway, shooting blind with one arm held under the canopy, wide-angle, zone focus, many tries, & much patience.

A monochrome rendering highlights one potential stark future.

AUTHOR
I'm an Australian landscape, travel and urban photographer, living in the beautiful World Heritage listed area of the Blue Mountains.

I lived and worked in the Middle East for over 15 years. Returning to Australia in mid-2022, I took the opportunity to re-immerse myself in photography.

Passionate about the environment, sustainability, and heritage, I want my photography to draw attention to these issues, to spark debate, bear witness, and support meaningful change.

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