Words truly cannot describe how much I have missed these rainy days. Where the sound can be heard from indoors. Little patters of droplets all around. The cold air and wrapping up in extra layers of clothing. Sitting in courtyards and surrounded by the falling leaves. The softened light that comes from the diffusion in the clouds above. It's such a comfortable atmosphere. Even more so with tea or coffee! Instead, it was freshly baked bread from a nearby bakery, sitting in a courtyard and enjoying the time passing by. The rain had largely decreased at that point, a few droplets still here and there, but nothing that'll get you drenched. Plus, the courtyards tend to have a sheltered seating area which helps!
The little courtyard was covered in leaves. Fortunately, unlike major parks, the leaves had been left alone to just sit and add more beauty and colour to the surrounding areas. People were walking by here and there, coming back from either school, uni, or their work. It remained largely quiet in the area anyway. The sound mostly dominated by the little droplets of rain still falling from the trees and garages around. This atmosphere was so nice! I knew I should use the Helios today for that creamier, more dreamy bokeh that it produces, knowing I'd photograph things up close and with a shallow depth of field. Close ups of leaves, little berries on the sides of fences and gardens. Despite the low light, there were still a lot of highlights in the trees, and lots of little softened bits of reflections due to the water.
These days the light quickly disappears though. Around 5pm it already starts to get dark. The light was quickly falling off. I've been trying to get out a bit earlier lately and enjoying some of the daylight that remains. I think if the weather continues to be so rainy that'll happen more often. Just have to fight that urge to stay warm and comfortable indoors with coffee and tv shows and films to consume the time instead! Autumn here tends to be short. The aforementioned tidying up of leaves in the parks removes much of that aesthetic. The long summers which have autumn being about a week or two long doesn't help either. A few days ago it was still 20 degrees outside, bright and sunny! That transition really does just happen overnight here. One day it's warm, the next you're throwing on long-sleeves and hoodies.
Photographing this time of year is so fun too. The leaves still haven't fully left all of the trees. Some trees just don't have that same transition as the seasons change. Some turn yellow and vibrant. Pines stay as they are. There's still plenty to capture around, even if the skies turn grey and the buildings of that old Soviet era do seem a bit more consuming of the space as those trees reveal them towering above.
