Some autumn leaves are show-offs. You know who I mean. The big reds and oranges that stand out in a crowd. Now that the early winter storm has blown many of the leaves away, I’d like to look back at some of the shyer guys. Like the quiet yellows you can see on trees in the birch family (Betula spp.).

The trees in the first two pictures (taken just last Saturday on the Spit) made me think of Group of Seven paintings – in the leaves, I could almost feel the texture of the paint. I’ve tried to enhance that effect in the first photo, but really it could have been left untouched. As the friends I was walking with disappeared into the distance, the birch trees called me to try to capture their likeness.

You can see that the picture of this little grove is a little truer to life

And this brings to mind the names on my parents’ paint tubes – burnt umber, raw sienna, cadmium yellow.

Waterlogue is fun to play with on a photo like this. But nothing quite improved on the original.