[Ed. Note — If the title of this article didn’t tip you off (twice), it was originally meant to be released around Halloween.]

Hey people! I’m gonna be doing something a little different for this issue. New Shield, new me, I guess?

While I’m definitely not a professional photographer, I do enjoy stopping to snap a nice picture on my phone. For a ~$110 device, it does a pretty great job. So here are some nice autumn-themed pictures I’ve taken. Click on them for a full-size image.

A while back, I used this picture to showcase the quality of the Honor 5X camera. I love how it captures the bumps and patterns in the gourds. I took this at a farm near me that sells pumpkins, gourds, squash, etc.

These three pictures are all of the same tree. If you think of a fall tree, you think of red, orange, and yellow leaves, so this tree does a great job being a fall tree. Each year, it turns brilliant colors. It looks pretty great next to our red Japanese maple tree. The feeling of ducking under singed orange leaves as I come home contributes greatly to the cozy feeling of fall.

Ah yes, the edge of a forest slowly converting to its fall palette. I took this picture at a farm in Canton, NY. There was freshly pressed apple cider, live music, and . . . goats. 🙂

This tree seems to be ahead of the others! Isn’t it cool how they each change at their own rate, but in the end, they all look the same with their leaves off? What if trees always looked this way?

The scholarly looking brick building creates a nice environment for this brilliant and wise tree.

No, these aren’t actually cherries. I’m not really sure what they are, but they look pretty tasty (just like something Pac-Man would eat!) My favorite part of this shot is the drip of water right in the middle. There’s a whole microcosm of reflection within it, revealing even more “cherries.” Makes me think about Horton Hears a Who. What a small world in there!

This is probably one of my favorites. The same sort of “cherries” here. Another small world revealed in this picture. We spend a lot of time looking up at flourishing leaves on the trees, but the decaying debris on the ground can look beautiful as well. What a flashy shade of red displayed here. So many layers! There’s probably a couple bugs crawling around under here too.

The fields of fall. Still warm enough to go out in short sleeves every once in a while. The sky hasn’t turned its eternal winter gray just yet. I’m really glad this one came out all right. I actually snapped it through the window of a moving bus!

Fall skies make some cool silhouettes. Kinda spooky, kinda peaceful.

Cuz cats are part of Halloween, right?

Thanks for taking the time to look at some of my pictures! I know my thoughts are pretty scattered, but I think that kind of reflects the scattered nature of these images. There’s a lot of different feelings that they can evoke, just as autumn means something different for everyone. Hopefully I was able to capture some of that essence in this post.