32 Minutes in the Pine Barrens

When things around you and around the world become overwhelmingly perplexing, nature is an escape for many of us. I’ve been heading out into the woods quite a bit lately. On one of those trips, nature showed its ability to overwhelm with beauty. Here is that story. It took place in a few minutes, 32 to be exact, where I was able to witness a day which began in a magical realm of color and light.

Whitesbog is a special place in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The restored village is a cultural and historic center, and the old cranberry bogs outside the village are a beautiful and accessible piece of the Pines. The unique thing about the bogs in Whitesbog are that they can provide 360 degree views of the sky and landscape.

I went there recently to photograph the sunrise and the fall colors. The forecast called for heavy rains in the late morning, so it seemed like a good place to capture some early fall color before the wet weather arrived. This post covers 32 minutes of that trip. It was such a show of color and light that it was almost impossible to keep up with it. Below is the story of that half hour.

 

7:06am, Twilight

My original plan was to photograph individual colorful trees in the soft light of misty morning. There was no mist, but when the coming dawn broke on the horizon it became obvious by the way it reflected through the clouds that the sunrise was going to be stunning.

Prequel to the Day by Richard Lewis 2023

 

7:12am, Dawn

As the sun started to clear the horizon, the hints of color seen in the previous photograph, exploded into a fire storm of red. This was one of those scenes where the color in the sky and the Fall colors on the ground were competing to see who could be more colorful.

Whitesbog Sky Fire by Richard Lewis 2023

 

7:19am, A Surprise Red Rainbow

Anyone who has heard me speak about photographing landscapes knows about the fine art of turning around to see what’s going on behind you.  The light in the sky was so intensely red that I had to turn around and see how that color was affecting the landscape. And what was there was something I have never seen before. A single color red rainbow.

Later I learned that these are uncommon and caused the same way as regular rainbows which is by sunlight interacting with water drops in the air. When the sun is very low on the horizon it allows only red light to get through, just like the color of the sunrise itself. No matter what the scientific explanation is, this was a magical surprise. I never expected any rainbow, let alone a red one.

 

7:21am, The Breather

Not long after the sun came up, it went behind the clouds. I grabbed this one last photograph (or so I thought) of this pretty red leaf draped maple before packing up my gear and heading home.

Red Maple Red Sky by Richard Lewis 2023

 

7:32, The Encore

Thinking the show was over I packed up and then this happened. The sun partially broke through, creating this beautiful storm light on the landscape. Fortunately, I found this magical light falling on the colorful trees while the pine trees remained in shadow.

Pine Barrens Fall Storm Light by Richard Lewis 2023

 

7:38, The Glow

For the next few minutes the sun went in and out of the clouds. I walked along the bog and found this spot. A bit of mist was rising and the diffused sunlight created a nice glow on the landscape. This was the final moment where the sun retreated behind the clouds and the sky became gray. Sunrise was officially over not long after this photograph was made.

Morning Glow by Richard Lewis 2023

 

A Parting Gift

Before heading home, I drove around Whitesbog still needing a little bit more of a color fix. This little swamp with a mix of  ghost (dead) cedar trees and Fall color was nature’s last gift of the morning.

Coloring the Ghosts by Richard Lewis 2023

 

Falling in Fall by Richard Lewis 2023

 

Fall Scenes Elsewhere in the Pine Barrens

First Light and Retreating Night by Richard Lewis 2023

 

A Storm Approaches by Richard Lewis 2023

A little over a half hour in the Pine Barrens may not have solved any of the world’s problems, but it helped me look past them and see the beauty in the natural world that surrounds us. Even if the spectacular light of the morning didn’t happen, it would have been a good experience. Somehow I think the Pines knew what I needed and put on an extra special show to benefit me and anyone else out there.

Enjoy!

See other fall photographs here