286/365: "Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." ~ George Eliot

3 more pictures in notes above! :)

Though this day began with rain and and overcast conditions, by the afternoon the skies had cleared, the sun came out and the day was transformed to beautiful Autumn splendor! Steve and I decided to go on a walk around one of our country "blocks", which is about three miles in distance!

I took my camera along even though I'd taken a bunch of images earlier. I really wanted to share something from off the property. It was a wonderful walk and I got lots of neat pictures, just as I'd hoped! :)

On the way back to our property, I looked across the road and saw the pretty colors of the changing trees, but I really didn't think I could capture the beauty that I saw. Just in case, I took several pictures. Good thing I did... taking a look on my computer, I saw the potential for something special. I added a touch of saturation, along with careful manipulation of contrast and tone balance. To finish, I chose a wide format with the addition of a black bar top and bottom to give this image a strong base. I hope you like it! :D

Mary Anne (alternatively Mary Ann or Marian) Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist, and translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She is the author of seven novels, most of them set in provincial England and known for their realism and psychological insight. She used a male pen name, she said, to ensure her works would be taken seriously. Female authors were published under their own names during Eliot's life, but she wanted to escape the stereotype of women only writing lighthearted romances. An additional factor in her use of a pen name may have been a desire to shield her private life from public scrutiny and to prevent scandals attending her relationship with the married George Henry Lewes, with whom she lived for over 20 years. Wikipedia: George Eliot