My objective for visiting Starved Rock State Park during this outing was two fold, to photograph the canopy of varying colours of the autumn foliage from the Starved Rock overlook and I wanted to take a more leisurely hike through the park while keeping my eye open for anything that might normally go unnoticed by a passerby.

 

I’m not usually a morning person, but when I’m on a photography outing such as this, I try to get an early start and be onsite by sunrise, which was at 07:17 local time.  However, on this day, it was almost 08:30 local time when I arrived.  It was still unseasonably warm and compared with recent years, the foliage had barely begun to change to the typical vibrant autumn colours.  After taking in the view from atop the Starved Rock outcrop, I planned to follow the Riverwalk Trail, a route I had not taken in awhile.  I first stopped by French Canyon, then bypassing Lover’s Leap & Eagle Cliff, I ventured on to Beehive Overlook where I took brief rest period.  Continuing to follow the Riverwalk Trail, I went on to Wildcat Canyon, Basswood Canyon, Lonetree Canyon and finally LaSalle Canyon.

 

What made this day more interesting than usual was not so much the photographs I took, but the people I met throughout the day.  The first group I met was a large extended family from Hong Kong who were visiting relatives now living in Chicago.  It was the first time some of the younger family members had met their relatives and a young couple had recently become engaged.  As a courtesy, I took some family snapshots against a scenic backdrop.

 

Later in the day, I happened upon three companions who had recently attended an Amnesty International conference and where now travelling throughout the Midwest, loosely following Route 66 before they returned home.  The two men were from the Netherlands and the woman originally hailed form Nigeria, but had emigrated to Amsterdam.  After our introductions were made, we walked along the Riverwalk Trail chatting about a variety of topics, including local places of interest, the upcoming US Presidential election, their camping tour to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and then to Detroit, and of course, we talked a little about photography.  Whether it was her grasp of the English language, being cultured and knowledgeable, and quite attractive, or otherwise, I seemed to spend more time chatting with the young woman.  Had time permitted, it would have been nice to have a more in-depth conversation with her.  Upon reaching our mutual destination, I took some quick snapshots of the three companions against the backdrop of LaSalle Canyon, a signature feature of the state park.  Alas, I didn’t even take the opportunity to take a memento snapshot for myself.  No matter, I certainly enjoyed their company and it made my day more pleasurable.

 

After parting ways from the three companions, I set about photographing LaSalle Canyon.  Because it had recently rained, there was a small waterfall.  After a short while, existing daylight within the canyon diminished as the sun slowly set towards the west.  With my work day all but over, I made my way back to the main parking lot while there was still enough light to see unaided.

 

About This Photograph

The above photograph was taken slightly off the beaten path along the Riverwalk Trail near Lonetree Canyon.  The root system of this uprooted tree is about 2.5 meters in diameter.  Even though I had been in the vicinity relatively recently, I had not noticed this downed tree before, thus, I would venture to say that the tree had been uprooted sometime during the past year.

 

When I pondered how to photograph the root system of this uprooted tree, in my mind’s imagination, I wanted the final image to be dark yet retain some aspect of the soil which encased the entangled roots.  I wanted the protruding roots to appear as though they were emerging from darkness.  I envisaged an abstract concept of a birth from emptiness.  This loosely describes a recurring theme which periodically appears throughout my work.