AUTUMN PUDDLE by SUE HADRILL

I hadn’t realised there was a catch along with the pleasure of having my photo chosen for October’s Picture of the Month (many thanks to Vonny who provided the beautiful subject matter and light pad for that). Despite qualms, it’s good to have a reason to concentrate on the lovely images from this month and try to choose a favourite.
Eventually I honed it down to two (though I also loved Andy Best’s ‘Infrared Sycamore Gap’ when I looked at in in ‘Full View’ and my monitor cropped it by a third off both bottom and left!).
I found it very difficult to choose between Rod Smith’s ‘Tumbling Water’ and Sue Haddrill’s ‘Autumn Puddle’.
‘Tumbling Water’ by Rod Smith immediately attracted me with the warmth and variation of colour of the rocks caught by sunlight through the glassy gloss of the beck. I love the dynamism of the diagonal tumbling ridge of water (great title!) – the photo captures beautifully the combination of liveliness and calm that I find so soothing about running water. It would look lovely framed or as a card.
I kept coming back to Sue Haddrill’s ‘Autumn Puddle’ and have ended up choosing it as November’s Photo of the Month – it is so evocative of this time of year. Its sharpness brings out the hidden depths (and heights?) of its subject. I love taking photos of puddles and have quite a collection – but this is something special. The shadows of trees high above lead the eye from one part of the puddle to another. Flashes of yellow lighten the myriad browns. Water shines, pulled into marvellous shapes round leaves and stones as they break its surface – and we can look beneath, at the lovely mottled texture of the puddle floor. Subtly beautiful and prompting contemplation – just right for Autumn!

Val Winchester