the Beauty of decay

In my series, The Beauty of Decay, I began by photographing the beauty of the fall foliage as it changes between seasons. I love detail, texture, and abstract views of ordinary things. The closer we look, we lose sight of the object as we know it, and it becomes a new life form. My intention was to showcase the beauty I see in the deterioration of nature. Narrowing down the focus to the vibrance and depth of colors which give each element its unique personality. Subsequently, my study turned into a more introspective analogy of the decay of a leaf to that of our own mortality. With the passing of the four seasons in the northeast come the vast changes in our foliage. Autumn to me reflects the later stages in our lives, wherein we live a vivid and colorful time, yet begin to reassess our past and current existence. Wherein a leaf changes from the bright green of summer into a lush, mature crimson. I consider the depth of the burgundy, rust, and orange, and think how as we age our personalities become similarly deeper, richer, and even more beautiful. The history of each leaf is reflected in its flaws, bruises, and battle wounds. Our lives mimic the leaf in that we too become a product of our experiences. As Mother Nature has affected the size, shape, and color of each dying leaf, so has the world around us formed who we have become as family, friends, and people, and who we will continue to become, before it is our time to move on and make room for new spring buds.