Welcome to Gaia! ::

The colors! The light! Even the very weather itself was perfect. It was a quintessential fall day where there was just a n** of chill in the air to take the edge of the sun off even as the bright light filtered through the myriad of colors that were the trees garbed in their Autumnal colors. Vivid reds, bold yellows, vibrant oranges, dustings of brown, and even ghosts of green still clung to some trees. All of them painted the parks, and lanes, of the city in warm colors. Easing the harsh lines of the buildings with the softness of nature. Feathering the harsh colds of concrete and glass with the warmth of the leaves.

He had maybe two weeks, possibly three if the weather held, to capture these plays of color and light. Warmth and cold. Before the leaves truly drop, leaving the trees bare and empty until next spring. So Nate was taking advantage of the time, of the weather, and of the light to take as many pictures as he could. Some had included his daughter, more his wife, but this time, at this place, he was just taking landscape pictures. No subjects but the trees and the play of light through them. This particular park was indulging his arboreal photography session perfectly, almost magically. Nate was not about to take this gifted moment for granted, so he planned to use all the time he had before he needed to call it a day to take pictures.

The young man was so absorbed in the view from behind his camera, that when he took a few steps backward to frame his current shot better, he didn’t even realize there was someone behind him. At least not until he ran into them, at which point he turned and started to apologize profusely. It was never polite to bump into someone, even if you had no idea they were there.

He was glad to see that the person he had bumped into hadn’t taken a tumble, and even more relieved that she seemed to be more than understanding. “I’m glad,” Nate sighed before smiling and nodding. “Yes. It's a wonderful day for it. Between the colors of the leaves and the light it is just perfect. You as well?” He had picked up the ‘too’ in her question and saw her camera as well.

“There is this spot over by the east side entrance of the park where you can get fantastic shots of the trees.” Nate quickly navigated to the stored pictures on the digital camera, where he had captured the image of several birds taking off from the still green grass while the trees were practically painting the background in fiery colors. “Here,” He held up the camera so she could see, “I was lucky enough to catch a few pigeons in flight. But honestly the mix between the grass and the trees and everything, even without the birds, I think the picture would have turned out.” The young man looked up at the trees before shrugging lightly, “Not that any shots today would be bad. Today is a wonderful day for pictures.”

“Spring is wonderful. A real mix of colors, but the allergies tend to be a real,” He quickly changed the particular phrase he was about to say, “pain.” Nate was doing his best to curb any swear words in his vocabulary since his little girl was definitely parroting everything they said and he definitely didn’t want her to pick up that little habit from them. “Nate,” He returned her handshake, “It’s nice to meet you.”

The young man pointed out a few other spots in the park that had decent light and angles as far as he was concerned. “I’m still an amateur but I think those are some of the best spots for an overall landscape shot. What about you? Any suggestions?” He was curious to see what this young lady would suggest. Was she one of those people who preferred the zoomed in pictures? A singular leaf in focus on a tree or a bug on the bark? The micro world kind of vibe? Or was she also more interested in the panorama views? To each their own as far as Nate was concerned, he was just curious. He didn’t get to talk to many people about his hobbies any more. Most of his more adult conversations either revolved around work or his family so this was a nice change in pace.

“I’ll have to make my way over there next,” Nate brought up his map app on his phone to get a rough idea of the best angles over the smallish pond in the park. He wasn’t overly into the supper micro photos but he did understand the appeal. “The Ombre leaves really are neat looking. I like the ones that still have a hint of green to them.”

At the turn of the conversation towards publication Nate just shrugged. “Not really. I use my photos in my own work sometimes but in general I use them for inspiration.” They did come in handy for visuals and background usage in his freelance work, most of the time they were heavily edited but not always. Sometimes he could use them untouched. Those pieces were one he was especially proud of. Dessie also occasionally used his photos in her work as well. “But I am always helpful for other sites, especially ones that respect the time and skill of artists. AI really is a scourge on modern man.” He vehemently detested AI slop and all the crap that came along with it.

Nate chuckled and added, “I know they say that you should find a way to make money off of something you enjoy but personally I feel that it's one of the faster ways to lose interest in what you are doing.” Not all hobbies needed to have a reason, or a way to make money out of it. So many people tried to do just that and found themselves hating their once beloved hobby. The stress and pressure to make money often led to unintended consequences.

“Ahhhh, you wanted a Rosie the robot. I think a lot of people would prefer one of those robots rather than whatever this Orwellian thing we have now is.” He knew that it is definitely something he would prefer, even if he quite enjoyed the more ‘homebody’ tasks like cooking or folding laundry fresh from the dryer. It was nice to not have to do it every time, and he definitely disliked cleaning the bathroom. That was one task he would happily pass off to a robot if it was ever possible.

The young man nodded and actually fished out a business card that he handed over. “That sounds great. Here is my card, it has my contact info on it. It's one of the easier ways of getting me.” The card was embossed with a design and proclaimed the owner as a Graphic Designer, followed by his name and email address. Nate didn’t have very many of those left but they still came in handy every so often. “Its always nice to meet new people with the same hobby that is for sure.”

“It was a pleasure,” Nate assured Cynthia. “Have fun and good luck in your class.” He returned her wave before turning his focus back to the view behind the lens. He still had about an hour before he had to head back home.

Maybe it was worth looking into any local photography groups? It would be nice to make this a scheduled break from the hectic bustle of life, and meeting more people would be fantastic. Yes… yes that seemed like a great idea in his book.