Leaf Peeking at Sweet Spring

Posted on October 13, 2012 by artsifrtsy

Fall color is starting to pop and I got a chance to shoot a bit before dark the last two nights. I headed to one of my favorite spots in Eureka Springs – Sweet Spring.

Eureka is the town that water built and it has dozens of free flowing springs that attracted Victorian types to come to find healing in the waters. In the 1880s the City created reservations that basically created a protective area around each spring, essentially they created dozens of small jewel-box parks.

Many of the springs on the west side of town have formal stonework surrounds and Sweet Spring is essentially a spiral staircase that goes down into the ground. It has amazing color on the hill above.

I shot these all within 30 minutes of sunset.

This was taken with a fish-eye from down inside the stairwell.

Vines over the wall

Maples on the hillside

One of my favorite things to do in the fall is to just shoot leaves without any particular thought – I let myself get very right-brained – I hunt shapes and colors while shooting fast. I let my eye just find things without looking for them. It’s very different from shooting wildlife, it’s more organic – it’s more satisfying. I can get lost shooting leaves…

Yellow

Red

Orange

Gold

Green

For my friends in Canada

On my way out I had to shoot this morning glory.

My favorite leaf shot of the evening.

Ending the week shooting leaves is good for my soul. Autumn is here!

48 thoughts on “Leaf Peeking at Sweet Spring”

Susan Shay on October 24, 2012 at 1:41 pm said:

We missed that spring. 😦 Love the leaf shots! What lens did you use?

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- artsifrtsy on October 24, 2012 at 2:04 pm said:
  
  Thanks! Sweet and Harding are on the same street as Basin and Grotto – they are in between the two and Sweet is my favorite in the fall. For the one inside the spring I used my kit lens with a fisheye converter – for the rest I used my 100-300, my macro, and my fast 50.
  
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Pingback: Springing Eureka | Small Town World
russtowne on October 24, 2012 at 6:07 am said:

I love leaves! Thank you for sharing these.
Russ

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- artsifrtsy on October 24, 2012 at 3:46 pm said:
  
  Hi Russ – good to hear from you – thanks!
  
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elizabeth2560 on October 15, 2012 at 8:41 pm said:

We do not have the splendid colours of autumn (fall) here in Australia that you have and your photos bring your North American experience to life. It also brings back memories for me of the two seasons that I did experience there. Makes me want to go back there again in that season … one of these days. Thanks for the post 🙂

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- artsifrtsy on October 15, 2012 at 10:28 pm said:
  
  I was surprised to learn that Australia doesn’t have fall colors – so many other amazing wonders. I grew up in the desert so these colors were a treat for me the first time I saw them – I think no matter where life takes me I will want to spend fall someplace like this. Thanks for stopping by!
  
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  - elizabeth2560 on October 16, 2012 at 9:13 pm said:
    
    Australia’s trees are mainly evergreen..Eucalypts and wattles. So no ‘fall’. And in many parts of the country there are only two seasons winter and summer. The shoulder seasons are generally skipped over very quickly. Unless like me you live in the south … Tasmania… then here the four seasons are enjoyed.
    
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    - artsifrtsy on October 16, 2012 at 10:51 pm said:
      
      The “shoulder seasons” I love that – they are my favorites!
      
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The Course of Our Seasons on October 14, 2012 at 11:12 pm said:

Just love that place and your photos show it to perfection. And it was a fun surprise to have the blue of the morning glory in the mix! Beautiful – K

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- artsifrtsy on October 15, 2012 at 2:59 am said:
  
  Thanks – I hadn’t expected to see flowers still blooming but the city gardener is amazing – this is one of my favorite springs.
  
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joleneybean on October 14, 2012 at 11:10 pm said:

absolutely lovely!

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- artsifrtsy on October 15, 2012 at 2:57 am said:
  
  Thank you!
  
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artblablablablog on October 14, 2012 at 7:33 pm said:

These are yummy, spectacularly gorgeous photos! They scream FALL, I love them!

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- artsifrtsy on October 15, 2012 at 2:55 am said:
  
  Thanks! Fall is the best!
  
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saradraws on October 14, 2012 at 3:38 pm said:

What a treasure! I’m loving photos one and three. One is so textural, and rich in colour. three, well, I,m a sucker for unusual vantage points. Fall is such a great season to shoot, especially when we can get a sunny day.

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- artsifrtsy on October 14, 2012 at 4:28 pm said:
  
  Thanks, the third photo is the one I was going for. I’ve shot it before on overcast days and it’s just missing something – sky:) I love this spot, so many angles to explore.
  
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cravesadventure on October 13, 2012 at 2:02 pm said:

AMAZING Photos – thanks for sharing – I live in brown, brown and brown!!!

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- artsifrtsy on October 13, 2012 at 8:09 pm said:
  
  Thanks, with the summers drought I was only expecting brown. Some late summer rain saved the season.
  
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mrs fringe on October 13, 2012 at 11:32 am said:

Beautiful! Looks like an incredible place to go and just be. And I agree, that last shot is special.

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- artsifrtsy on October 13, 2012 at 1:31 pm said:
  
  Thanks, it really is a lovely spot. There are hiking trails above on the bluff.
  
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victoriaaphotography on October 13, 2012 at 5:27 am said:

Beautiful colour & stunning images, Lorri.
(although that last shot would tempt me to rub out some spots. LOL).

Julie Goyder (from Western Australia) is pretty much correct about Western Australia. They don’t have much Autumn colour on that side of the country. Western Australia is known for it’s spectacular wild flowers in Spring.

I get some good colour on my side of Aust. because I live near large public gardens. But the Dandenong ranges overlooking the east suburbs of Melbourne are where the really spectacular Autumn coloured leaves are. Just not as spectacular at your side of the world.

We have a lot of eucalyptus trees and native trees that are blue-green and not deciduos. It’s mainly the English trees brought out by the first settlers that have Autumn colour in Australia,.

Love that third circular image in this series you’ve posted..

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- artsifrtsy on October 13, 2012 at 5:55 am said:
  
  LOL – I suppose it could be cleaned up a bit. In my work I do so much photoshop that I use very little of if on my photos. It’s not that I don’t think it’s ok or anything like that. I prefer not to do much beyond adjusting the exposure or white balance.
  
  I assumed Australia had similar colors, but here it’s so varied as well. In the east and south we have lots of color – in the west, not so much. I grew up in the desert where we didn’t even have an autumn so this is like
  fireworks.
  
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stuffitellmysister on October 13, 2012 at 4:08 am said:

I just got lost with you! BEAUTIFUL!

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- artsifrtsy on October 13, 2012 at 4:27 am said:
  
  Thanks – I am taking the train from Seligman to Van Buren tomorrow and I hope I get lots to shoot.
  
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  - stuffitellmysister on October 13, 2012 at 2:59 pm said:
    
    What fun! Have a blast and cannot wait to see what you capture! (please rain…HOLD OFF!)
    
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    - artsifrtsy on October 13, 2012 at 8:11 pm said:
      
      So far so good 🙂
      
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      - stuffitellmysister on October 13, 2012 at 8:20 pm said:
        
        told hubby about your journey….he wants the details so we can go too! sprinkles here off and on…. ENJOY!
naimavanswol on October 13, 2012 at 3:56 am said:

stunning. these are awesome.

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- artsifrtsy on October 13, 2012 at 4:26 am said:
  
  Thanks so much!
  
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theagnosticswife on October 13, 2012 at 3:40 am said:

The colors are breathtaking!

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- artsifrtsy on October 13, 2012 at 3:45 am said:
  
  Thanks – I bet the color is coming out out your way too.
  
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dianasschwenk on October 13, 2012 at 3:31 am said:

For my friends in Canada! Thank you. Beautiful colours and I love maple trees. 🙂

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- artsifrtsy on October 13, 2012 at 3:35 am said:
  
  LOL – I posted that one on my FB page with the caption “O Canada” 🙂 I love maples too. Right now they are so many colors at the same time.
  
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  - dianasschwenk on October 13, 2012 at 4:06 pm said:
    
    Well come visit and I’ll make you an honourary Canadian!
    
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    - artsifrtsy on October 13, 2012 at 8:10 pm said:
      
      That would be awesome, I would have to learn the Canadian spelling for honorary – hmmmm
      
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      - dianasschwenk on October 14, 2012 at 12:43 am said:
        
        general rule: where you write or we write our 🙂 well except for words mentor, vendor, oh crap there is no rule!
      - artsifrtsy on October 14, 2012 at 4:19 pm said:
        
        Haha – I’m not so filled with American arrogance to think we got it right…
jmgoyder on October 13, 2012 at 2:33 am said:

Your autumn is so much more colourful than ours!

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- artsifrtsy on October 13, 2012 at 2:37 am said:
  
  Really – I would have thought they would be similar after seeing images of Spring. Do you have a lot of deciduous trees there? When I lived in the NW we had mostly pines and firs – no real color at all.
  
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  - jmgoyder on October 13, 2012 at 3:06 am said:
    
    We have nothing colourful in autumn at all! When we lived in Canada we were astounded!
    
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thegreenstudy on October 13, 2012 at 2:06 am said:

Wow – loved the shots from the bottom of the stairwell!

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- artsifrtsy on October 13, 2012 at 2:11 am said:
  
  Thanks – I tried it yesterday but the sky was overcast – when it cleared this afternoon I took another stab at it.
  
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- dianasschwenk on October 13, 2012 at 3:32 am said:
  
  I loved those too!
  
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  - artsifrtsy on October 13, 2012 at 3:41 am said:
    
    I shoot from down there several times a year – I love the perspective.
    
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  - Elyse on October 13, 2012 at 3:55 am said:
    
    Me too!
    
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Bev on October 13, 2012 at 1:39 am said:

Absolutely beautiful ~ thx for sharing !!

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- artsifrtsy on October 13, 2012 at 1:42 am said:
  
  Thanks Bev!
  
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