Autumn in Nebraska: A Drive Through the Country

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Originally posted Wed. Oct. 17, 2012

I’m not a fan of driving, but I do a lot of it on my way to and from stories. Over the past month I’ve oft seen beautiful fall landscapes, but I couldn’t just stop and start snapping away while on deadline. Sometimes I certainly wish I did though; I’m still hitting myself over the head for not capturing that serene image of a palomino horse grazing under the sole tree in a rare still-green pasture.

So last week on my day off I decided to go on a drive in search of autumn beauty. There’s just so much to love about fall. The gorgeous colors, the soft kiss of the breeze, the classics such as pumpkin pie and ginger snaps. I also love being able to wear leather riding boots, fitted coats, and glorious scarves.

I didn’t really have a set road map, other than making Loup City my turnaround point. Whenever I saw scenery I liked, I’d stop and take a few photos….and yes, that did sometimes mean turning around if I couldn’t find a safe spot to park. I let road signs take me on a 7-hour journey through the heart of central Nebraska, to a diner with more than 1,300 cookie jars, on a fortuitous search for local honey, and to wonderful moments of solitude in the embrace of nature.

The (albeit inartistic) beauty of the digital age is being able to just snap away. The underside of that is having to choose merely 20 out of hundreds. My only wish is to have had a professional camera so I could have worked with the aperture to create bokeh for some of the photos, but as of now my only photographic equipment is my Samsung Galaxy S3. Other than the occasional cropping, photos have not been edited in any way. Thanks and enjoy.