Hugh Carey: A blur of Autumn leaves

Copyright Hugh Carey 2007

Shutter: 1/50
Aperture: f/20
ISO:400
WB: Cloudy

I wanted to find a good ‘autumn leaves’ feature before winter falls through. It’s pretty hard to shoot colorful leaves for a black and white newspaper. So I went for a picture with many leaves as possible in the frame and that had human element in it. The grassy mounds at the Mansfield Mall were perfect. The leaves were on hills next to sidewalks. I didn’t have to go up a building and shoot high angle shots of people and the ground. So, I walked around the Mansfield Mall looking for the right angle to get layers of hills with leaves on it and sandwiched it with telephoto lens.

– Hugh Carey

Blog Action Day photos

Copyright Kristine Paulsen 2007

A bicycle wheel propped up over a garbage can urges River City Roots Festival-goers to be responsible recyclers.
I like this photo mainly because of the subject matter. It's just such a funky way to ask people to recycle.

Copyright Hugh Carey 2007

Copyright Krista Miller 2007

Spotted knapweed is a biennial, or short-lived perennial found throughout Canada and the U.S. except for Alaska, Georgia, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. It can be easily confused with its relative, Russian knapweed, which is also found throughout Canada and the U.S. The plant flowers from June through October. The flowers are pink to purple, and each flowering head may produce 25 to 35 flowers, and this weed produces 1,000 seeds or more per plant. Knapweed, as it is commonly known, releases a toxin that reduces the growth of surrounding vegetation. The seeds may remain in the soil for five years or more, so infestations are likely to keep occurring unless repeated soil treatments and controlled growth areas are constantly attended to. Spotted knapweed has few natural enemies and may be consumed by grazing livestock when no other vegetation is available. Knapweed reduces biodiversity and increases soil erosion. The potential annual loss to Montana’s economy from spotted knapweed alone is estimated to be $42 million.

Copyright Shane McMillan 2007

Three rotting oil barrels sit near the train tracks in Missoula last week. With almost a century of use, the area around the tracks holds many signs of the carelessness of industry and modern man. The oil from these barrels in undoubtedly joining the water cycle and probably won't leave it for quite some time.