Autumn Light in Adelaide

Description

I was in Adelaide on a work trip, several days of back-to-back photo shoots, the kind of schedule that leaves little room for anything else. But on one of those crisp, still mornings, I found myself with just enough time to slip out early in search of breakfast and a strong coffee.

The streets were quiet, washed clean by the cool air of early autumn. A few joggers passed, and shopfronts were only just starting to stir. I wasn’t thinking about photography, at least not for myself. My camera was slung over my shoulder more out of habit than purpose.

Then I saw it.

Halfway up the street, an old tree stood proudly on the footpath, a cathedral of colour in full autumn bloom. Its leaves were ablaze with deep oranges, fiery reds, and golden yellows, each one catching the soft morning light like a spark. The branches twisted and gnarled like weathered hands reaching out in every direction, rough with age and character.

I stepped off the path and ducked under the canopy, standing almost inside the tree. The world outside faded. It was just me, the crunch of leaves underfoot, and the warm hum of nature holding its breath.

I raised the camera and began to frame the shot. I followed one long, contorted branch with my lens, its bark cracked and dark, and just as I moved slightly to the side, a beam of sunlight sliced through the foliage. It hit the edge of the branch perfectly, flaring into my lens in a burst of soft, golden light. It felt like the tree was revealing something sacred, just for a moment.

Click.

That shot captured everything: the colour, the texture, the light, the stillness. The quiet conversation between sun and leaf, age and season. It was more than just a photo, it was a reminder. That even on work trips, even on the way to coffee, beauty waits patiently for you to notice.

I eventually got my breakfast, but the photo stayed with me longer. Adelaide had gifted me a fleeting moment of magic, found not in the middle of a planned shoot but in the arms of an old tree glowing with autumn fire.