One of my favorite things about getting together with families to document their everyday lifestyles is talking to them to find out what best to shoot while I’m there. So last year, I started bringing a little mp3 recorder with me, and then finding some quiet time to conduct interviews during the shoot, which I edit and use as audio for their slide show. At Nicole and Brian’s shoot, one thing I learned about them is that they are true communication professionals! Their interview was just about perfect. I love how their documentary slide show begins. Send me a message if you’d like to see it.

So anyway, at the beginning of the slide show, Nicole and Brian were at an early sonogram appointment before they knew they were going to have twins. Brian says that at the doctor’s office, “Nicole turns to me and says, ‘Oh, I forgot to tell you last night I had a dream that we were having twins.’” And Brian follows by saying to her, “Why would you say something like that? That’s just, how would we handle something like that?” About 10 minutes later, the sonogram technician revealed the surprising news. And Nicole and Brian were “awestruck.”

The twins are so expressive and a pleasure to photograph.

I think playgrounds are a key ingredient in families with young children, so even though this is an odd crop, it highlights one of those important ingredients as being part of the family.

This documentary photoshoot was a gift from Brian’s parents last Christmas. I had taken pictures of Nicole and Brian’s son (now 4 years old) when he was a baby. The grandparents wanted to make sure we also covered the twins at around the same age.

I love this one of him playing. It’s cool that one of his baby pictures from our shoot hangs on the wall in the background.

There’s always a little bit of chaos wherever children are around. That’s not really unique to families with twins. However, I do believe, as a photographer with several families of twins as regular clients, that the chaos is just a little more pronounced. (At the same time, aren’t we all a little bit jealous of twins? Instant best friend!)

He’s never too far away from his sisters.

Yin/yang!

I’m always grateful for the things that make it easy to tell one twin from the other … blue eyes.

… green eyes.

She’s desperately trying to get my mp3 recorder. But there was so much noise going on while I was trying to record the girls’ sweet little voices that I really didn’t get anything discernible. We’ll have to consider doing another shoot when the girls are 4!

Just as we were planning a trip to the pool (see the bathing suit?), it got cloudy and started to lightening! Guess we’ll stay home after all.

But baths are fun too!

Check out the water all over the counter from the crazy splashing. I think I needed my rain gear for this part of the shoot!

The other twin — just as much splashing! So fun.

One of the things I love about this picture, other than the cute expressions on daddy’s and daughter’s faces, is the details in the shot. I would love to have a similar picture of me when I was a baby getting shampooed by my dad. I find the details of the background profoundly interesting — of the oven, the timer, the cabinets, the baby bottle, wipes, formula, dad’s clothes, the serving spoons, all of it.

If I had a picture like this of me and my dad, I’d study every little thing about it. I miss my dad so much, and my earliest memory is of my dad shampooing my hair in the bathroom sink. That story didn’t exactly have a happy ending though. Seems I grabbed the shampoo bottle and dumped the entire thing into my eyes — and those were the days before baby shampoo. I didn’t open my eyes for three days and they weren’t sure if when I did whether or not I’d be able to see. Then again, who knows? Maybe it was that incident that made me want to document the beautiful world.

It’s so funny that I got this picture because on the recording, Brian talks about the twin that quietly slips around figuring out how to get to things she’s not supposed to touch. This picture is a perfect accompaniment to that.

Raggedy Ann! I loved Raggedy Ann when I was a little girl!

Moms reading this — always get a manicure so your nails will look as awesome as Nicole’s because I always look for opportunities to capture the story of relationships as told through hands.

Can you guess what that blurry v-shaped blue thing is?

Nicole and Brian, I hope you love your slide show because I have a feeling I’ll be using that one for a looooooong time to give my clients an example of what to expect for the audio portion of their photoshoot. You were both amazing. Oh — you guys listened all the way to the very end, right? I LOVE the end!

With the middle of fall upon us, I’m happy to report that the 8th official week of fall has been determined by me to be Peak Week. Even as I write that, I struggle with oncoming sadness that it’s going to be over soon. Fall colors make me so happy, and sticks, well, I am determined to find the beauty in that too.

Above, this is one of the trees that was severely damaged in the October snow. If we end up having to cut it down completely, I will miss this tree’s stunning color every fall.

Nov. 13: Click here to see this image of downtown Metuchen at a bigger size.

Nov. 14: One of my Facebook friends said that bird is a chickadee. I think the local wildlife is getting used to my camera.

Nov. 15: Cloudy morning really brings out the rich colors of fall. Only 40 shopping days until Christmas. Eek.

Nov. 16: My Japanese Red Maple tree is sort of an understory tree to my Greenspire Linden, and in a normal fall, the linden would have lost all its leaves by the time the maple turned bright red. So I kind of freaked out when I saw a squirrel climbing around inside the maple, making the leaves pop off. Then again, it’s interesting to watch which way the leaves fall. Pretty that this little red leaf was cradled inside the yellow linden.

Nov. 17: This little tulip poplar tree lives in the parking lot by the Metuchen Pool and behind Edgar School. As I was taking the shot, a student walked up to me and wanted to know what I was doing. So I got the chance to share a few details about tulip poplar trees with her. For example, this little tree, if given enough space, can grow to be 100 feet tall! “That will shade a LOT of cars in the summer,” she said.

Nov. 18: By Friday, most places in Central New Jersey were past peak, but there is an occasional tree that still pops up in the background of a fun family picture.

Check back next week for more fall tree pictures, or friend me on Facebook with a note about trees so I can add you to my tree list.

After the October snow storm that ruined several of the trees featured in the Tree Grower’s Diary, I wasn’t sure I would continue the project of posting a picture every day. But my family had scheduled a visit to the World Trade Center Memorial many months ago, and while there on Nov. 3, I came upon “The Survivor Tree,” above, and I knew I had to keep going on the project.

The callery pear tree was recovered from the rubble under piles of debris and ashes, charred, broken, leafless and seemingly lifeless after 9/11. It was taken to a nursery in the Bronx. And there a miracle happened — the tree sprouted leaves the following spring and after a few years, flourished. It now stands 30 feet tall, replanted at the World Trade Center Memorial near the South Pool. It is covered with healthy leaves, cabled and protected by a loving cadre of care-takers, and it draws nearly as many visitors as the pools themselves.

The Survivor Tree’s example provides me with the hope to try to rescue my October Glory red maple that was severely damaged in last month’s October snow. Even so, the memorial pools remind me that all humans and all trees are mortal. And just like all humans, the cherished trees among us — the ones that shaded our Jurassic dinosaur games, the ones that kept our swings cool, the ones that made a green retreat at lunchtime, the ones that watched us grow and change — those cherished trees will live on in our memories too.

Friend me on Facebook with a note about trees if you would like to keep up with a daily image in the “2011 Fall Trees” project. I’ve been aggregating the daily posts into weekly ones for the blog. Click through to see this week’s shots.

Nov. 3: Above, I wanted to capture the never-ending motion of humanity at the World Trade Center site. The memorial pools are deeply moving and sad, emptying into a void of darkness. But to me, the oak trees that were planted all around the memorial area add life and breezes and dappled shade and constantly changing colors. As Bradley put it, “The trees add humanity to a place that would otherwise be cold and lifeless.”

Nov. 4: The leaves you’re seeing here all belong to one tree just down the block from my house. I love that about sugar maples — red, orange, yellow and brown all wrapped up in one.

Nov. 5: The Japanese Zelkovas at Metuchen Borough Hall are turning bright orange this year. Some years they’re reddish, some they’re yellowish. Fickle, I say, but still beautiful.

Nov. 6: My friend, Daniel, is not afraid of the big bad tulip poplar tree, no way.

Nov. 7: I’m surprised this tree not only still has all its leaves, but still hasn’t made the change to red. (Japanese red maples are notorious for their intense red fall color.) So today, as I was rushing to the train to head to work in the setting sun, the tree’s bronze color shouted at me, saying, “Stop! Love my *now* color! Tomorrow I’ll be red for you!” So I did.

Nov. 8: Kids are home from school for Election Day. Above, we were on our way to the school to vote. This Armstrong maple has shown up in the “2011 Fall Trees” collection before, inspiring a little collage of coolness, below, showing the mixed-up fall we’re having this year.

Same tree: September, October, November. Click here to see this image larger.

Nov. 9: I love how the evergreen in the background hints of the coming winter, and how the pyramid shapes seem to echo each other, the evergreen pointing up, the red maple pointing down in a similar swoop.

Nov. 10: I just had to throw this one in here. We let Kaptain Karl on the roof for a little while. He’s shown here with First Officer, Bradley.

Nov. 10: This is one of the trees in my yard that was severely damaged by the snow storm a few weeks ago. Hopefully I’ll still be getting some fall color from this tree NEXT year!

Nov. 11: The dogwood tree outside my window, in a normal fall, would have lost all its leaves by Halloween. But not this year. This year it just keeps on giving.

Check back next week for more fall tree pictures, or friend me on Facebook with a note about trees so I can add you to my tree list.

I never imagined when I started this album, “2011 Fall Trees,” that one of my special trees would split apart under the weight of a freak October snow storm. My prized tree, the October Glory red maple that I planted for my son, Brad, is gone. So I’m sad, and not certain that I’ve got the momentum to finish this project. My plan was to post a picture a day showcasing the beautiful colors of fall, relying heavily on the trees in my yard, especially toward the end of fall when most of central New Jersey has turned to sticks. Normally, my yard has fall color several weeks after the rest of town is bare. I posted a few extra pictures this week — some extras taken during the storm. Click through for this week’s pictures.

Above, the calm before the storm — this White Flowering Dogwood with the red-wine leaves lives in Heidi’s yard. It’s such a serene picture compared with the images that came on the following day.

Oct. 29: I took this one of my Greenspire Linden covered with snow from an upstairs window. It was so bad out with trees falling everywhere that my family wouldn’t let me outside.

Oct. 29: the purple leaf plum is leaning over from the weight of the snow. I’m hoping we can prop it back up.

Oct. 29: this picture at dusk seems so serene.

Oct. 29: the squirrel was in the dogwood, watching me take pictures from an open window. Or maybe he thought I was inviting him in. (I wasn’t, in case he’s reading this on some stolen iPad or something.)

Oct. 29: Sugar maple.

Oct. 29: Bradley attempted to knock some of the snow off the aristocrat pear. Of course, this tree is around 35 feet tall now, so there’s no knocking snow off the top of that tree anymore.

Oct. 29: The street trees lost several major branches. I hope they’ll recover.

Oct. 29: Bradley did a great job getting snow off my Japanese red maple. I love you, Bradley, for trying to save my Mother’s Day tree!

Oct. 29: But the October Glory red maple — and this is Bradley’s tree — is pretty much gone. I’m so sad. That tree, to me, was like a member of the family, shading our kitchen window and keeping the backyard cool and shady all summer. In fall, its leaves would turn bright red for as long as a MONTH. I will, gulp, miss this tree with all my heart.

That October Glory red maple has been a part of our family since we moved to Metuchen. It shaded our little inflatable pool and our treehouse and the swings, and was part of the Jurassic forest when we played dinosaur games with Bradley’s first best friend, Andrew, and it gave new life to the toy Jeep when it would get overheated and we’d park it under the tree for a while to cool it down, and it’s been home to birds and squirrels, and of course, we took pictures of the tree every year in every season and I just never imagined anything would happen to destroy it in my lifetime. The thought honestly never crossed my mind. I’m heartsick.

My brother, Steve, a carpenter in SC, told me that if we end up cutting it down completely, that I should save him a 3-foot section of the main trunk and he’ll make some rustic picture frames I can use to display pictures of the boys playing under the tree. I like that idea — doesn’t it sound great? I guess it sounds great. But I’ll still sad. I keep clamping my eyes shut down really tight, counting to three, and then opening them to the window out back, hoping I’ll see Bradley’s tree the way it was last week: 45 feet tall, full and glorious. Instead, I remind myself: things change. And I remember what my good friend, Bob, said the other day: “Bradley is solid, not to be intimidated by wind and snow.” Bob always knows just the right thing to say.

The day after, Oct. 30, the yellowwood at Tommy’s Pond made it through the storm.

Also at Tommy’s Pond, I note that the big trees here weathered the storm ok.

Oct. 30: I took this picture just after church services. There was no electricity in the building, but services went on anyway in the cold. I thought it would be a miracle if I managed to get some snow pictures in my “2011 Fall Trees” album, but I never imagined I’d have a holly-and-snow picture before Halloween.

Oct. 31, Halloween: It was almost dark out when we came to this house while trick-or-treating. I loved how the pattern of the leaves on the ground echoed the stone of the house but I debated whether to use the image as my tree-picture-of-the-day. The other candidate showed snow and ugly branches blocking the sidewalks and creating havoc for the trick-or-treaters, but in the end, after a few days to think about it, what really mattered to me was the beauty of fall, as in this picture, as opposed to that ugly freak October snow storm that killed my beloved trees.

Nov. 1: The redbuds at St. Francis Cathedral made it through the storm with only one major branch broken. They will recover nicely. So far, there’s just a little bit of fall color in the redbud leaves. I love how this picture so clearly demonstrates two main characteristics of redbud trees: 1) the bark on the branch here has a distinctive pattern to it that you could use to identify trees in winter and 2) notice that the leaves of the redbud tree occur ALTERNATE to each other on a branch (and not OPPOSITE). This is one of the first things to look for when trying to ID a tree — look closely at the leaf formation and ask yourself, are the leaves ALTERNATE or OPPOSITE? That will eliminate a generous portion of the possibilities for deciduous trees.

Nov. 2: This tree lives by Edgar School and is stunning at sunrise. The big, healthy, strong trees survived the freak October snowstorm here with little trouble. I have no doubt many squirrels and birds call this tree home. I’m glad they’re not homeless today.

I wrote a story about this tree years ago. I remember that day so vividly, thanks to the little story:

Nov. 7, 2005, Bradley was 11 years old, in 5th grade at Edgar School:

Thought for the day: I was the youngest of four and the only female child. My 5th grade picture could have graced the dictionary pages next to “daddy’s little girl.” But come 6th grade, something in me changed. It happened rather suddenly, one Sunday evening during the ride home from church. I remember it clearly because I still feel guilty for speaking to my father the way I did.

Dad was driving, and blazing through the windshield was the most beautiful azure-orange sunset I had ever seen. As he often did, Dad pointed toward the sun. “Look at the horizon,” he said, “isn’t that,” he caught his breath, “amazing?”

It was amazing, and I was sitting in the passenger seat thinking about how amazing it was, but I was so suddenly in a mood to see things differently from my father that I crossed my arms in adolescent defiance and spouted, “Yeah, whatever you say, dad.” I turned my head to look as far away from the glowing sky as I could possibly look, already feeling horrible for being so mean, but also, embarrassed for not having the courage to just apologize and acknowledge that yes, that sunset, which I can still see through the window of his ’76 Toyota, was in fact, stunning. I remember that he asked me what was the matter, but I said nothing more, not a word. Thus, the mood swings and silent rebellion that haunted my teen years began.

Now that I have children of my own, I am grateful for the memory of how rude I was to my dad, if only because maybe I’ll be sensitive to my boys’ changing attitudes when the time comes. Fortunately, Bradley is only 11 now. I might have a few more months, maybe even years before he will begin to exercise independence from me, probably starting as some little rebellion, like refusing to read with me on the weekends or not letting me quote him anymore. (Gasp!)

So as we drove from school in the peak of autumn golds and reds today, the leaves from maples and poplars quivering with the soft breath of winter on the way, the gilded light sparking flames of leaves frolicking with the wind from our passing car, I asked Bradley if he appreciated the beauty that surrounded us. Even as I said it, I thought of my dad, wishing I could talk to him again, and wondering if he might someday forgive me for all those times I disagreed for disagreement’s sake. There are many things I would say to him, if only he were not gone.

Bradley interrupted my silent meditation. “Oh yes!” he replied eagerly. I thought then how lucky I was to recognize and appreciate this moment of agreement! He’s still a boy, I thought triumphantly!

Bradley pointed to a large tree a football field away from the school building. “Do you see that tree? The big, golden one? There,” he said. “That’s the one. That is one beautiful, yellow, tremendous tree!”

I thought, “Yes! What a wonderfully optimistic, soulful boy he is!”

“Looking across the field at that tree,” he continued, “is the one thing that keeps me awake all day at school. Oh whatever will I do to occupy my mind when its leaves are all gone?”

Nov. 3: The October Glory red maple at St. Francis Cathedral lost a large branch on the north side of the tree in the snow storm, but I think it will recover nicely.

Check back next week for more fall tree pictures — assuming I can keep up the momentum despite my sadness about all my damaged or destroyed trees, or friend me on Facebook with a note about trees so I can add you to my tree list.

I have to admit, the busier I get the more I start to wonder why I decided to do this project in the first place. Then I go outside, look around at the beauty of my favorite color palette, and all seems right with the world. The Facebook album I’ve been creating with these images, “2011 Fall Trees,” makes me so happy. Friend me on Facebook with a note about trees if you would like to see the full album. Once a week, I post the tree roundup in my blog. Click through to see this week’s shots.

Above, that’s Tommy’s Pond in the background of this young white oak by Lake Avenue in Metuchen.

I waited too late in the day to get my tree shot on Oct. 22 so Greg and I set out on a nighttime adventure to shoot leaves with an off-camera flash. This red maple is behind St. Joe’s High School in Metuchen.

Sunday, Oct. 23: I had been waiting for the sugar maple by the First Presbyterian Church to change color and I really wanted the picture to appear on a Sunday. That’s just the relationship I have with this tree.

Oct. 24: When I first woke up on this Monday morning, all I wanted to do was keep my eyes shut. Hours later, I was walking by a red maple tree looking up at the leaves when I noticed one falling away. So I followed it. As long as I stood there in the breeze, the leaf never touched the ground. Instead it posed, waiting for me to acknowledge how grateful I was for the incredible array of colors offered to me today once my eyes were open.

Oct. 25: A photoshoot at the arboretum in Holmdel Park resulted in a game of “Cover Julie With Leaves.” (One of the most fun photoshoots EVER!)

Oct. 26: As I was taking this picture, a crotchety old man said, “There’s no color this fall.” So I said, “Yes there is! Look right there!” And he said, “That’s not very much.” It’s good enough for me.

Oct. 27: This is that beautiful yellowwood tree planted by the Metuchen Garden Club at Tommy’s Pond. If you’re interested in photographing leaves and trees, be sure to go out in the rain. That’s the best time to get great close-ups of leaves.

Oct. 27: Bonus picture! My FB friend, Beth, tipped me about the beautiful red-leaved tree in her yard so I popped over this morning to take a look. Turns out it is a beautiful pink-flowering dogwood with red-wine fall leaves. Stunning! Thanks again, Beth.

Check back next week for more fall tree pictures, or friend me on Facebook with a note about trees so I can add you to my tree list.

I am really enjoying the discipline of running outside to look for fall color, snapping a picture, and posting it in my Facebook album, “2011 Fall Trees.” Once a week, I post the tree roundup in my blog. Click through to see this week’s shots.

Above, it was pouring rain last Friday, and I was SO EXCITED to get my picture-of-the-day in the rain. I think it looks like a Christmas tree decorated with a pretty little yellow cherry tree leaf ornament. And it may have been pure eyeball fatigue, but I caught myself staring at this picture fully expecting the raindrops to fall.

Pear trees shade Main Street in downtown Metuchen during the Metuchen Country Fair on Oct. 15. For this shot, my goal was to show “trees at work,” providing shade as they were designed to do when planted. I walked around for about two hours before I found a decent spot that didn’t have an ugly trash can in the crop. See? It’s kind of a pretty trash can, right?

A long-time member of the First Presbyterian Church, Roz Docs died of breast cancer in 2004. This magnolia tree, photographed Sunday morning, Oct. 16, was planted in her memory in the courtyard. It’s beautiful inside and out, year-round, with many colors and many fruitful seeds, just like Roz. I say “fruitful seeds” because Roz was always inviting people to the First Presbyterian Church. She was the first person to invite me to check it out. I’ll always hold a special place in my heart for her because of that.

My sugar maple doesn’t lose its leave this early. I think this picture is interesting because you can see where the samaras were before they took flight. Photographed on Oct. 17, this tree lives in Clark. Aren’t the October blue skies so deeply blue?

When sycamore trees form a canopy over a street — it’s one of my favorite things. I took this picture a block from my house in Metuchen on Oct. 18. The buttery soft background looks delicious.

This sugar maple, across the street from the YMCA in Metuchen, was photographed on Oct. 19. Maybe you’ve driven by and noticed it lately. Better look fast. Those pretty pumpkin leaves won’t stick around much longer with all the rain and wind.

Planted by the Metuchen Garden Club in 2000, this yellowwood tree lives by Tommy’s Pond.

Check back next week for more fall tree pictures, or friend me on Facebook with a note about trees so I can add you to my tree list.

We had planned to go to the Martin Luther King Jr National Memorial Dedication in September, but were blindsided by Hurricane Irene. The event was postponed, and will be held this Sunday, Oct. 16. We ended up in Washington a few days after the originally planned dedication date. Above, the details of the sculpture captivated me. The eyes are amazing. Love the built-in catchlight.

We had taken a “Bike the Sites at Night” tour with Bike and Roll in downtown DC. Once our tour group got to the Martin Luther King Memorial, we had plenty of time to take it all in.

The lights and the time of day we ended up there worked out great for my pictures. Pictures at dusk are beautiful and add to the drama.

The designers did a great job with the lighting on the amazingly detailed sculpture.Be sure to visit the official web site for more information.

The midnight color of the sky really added to the overall emotional effect of the monument to the great leader.

This shot shows our bike group walking into the memorial area through the granite stone wall.

There were actually a lot of people in the park that night.

Greg, Brad and I had been there two days earlier, and there weren’t nearly as many people there on a weekday.

I took this shot as the bike group was gearing up for the nighttime tour. We started out at the Old Post Pavilion.

We rode through the Capitol Mall area as the sun was setting. There were adults in the group who hadn’t ridden a bike in many years, and children as young as 7 riding solo. No one had any trouble other than the kids being a little less considerate of pedestrians. Hint to parents who might like to take a bike tour of DC: educate your children before you go on how to be a considerate bicyclist.

I loved the evening light during the tour! (That’s Brad in front of me. He was a very considerate cyclist.)

Our tour guide, Seth, (center, at the Jefferson Memorial) did a great job giving us an introduction to each site before letting us go explore on our own for 10 or 15 minutes.

Here, Brad and Greg hang out for a few minutes at the FDR Memorial. I was shooting with a slow shutter speed to capture Greg’s youthful energy as a contrast to Brad’s laid-back-teenager vibe.

It really is beautiful to visit the Washington monuments at night. I love the contrasts I was able to shoot, always looking for ways to capture an action or an emotion at each.

Above, the Vietnam Memorial was very dark, allowing me to focus on one name among the 58 thousand.

Here’s the same shot with a much longer focal point.

Here, at the World War II Memorial, I waited for someone to step in between me and the fountain. As a photographer, I like to show memorials having an effect on the people visiting.

Biking the sites at night was a great way to see a lot of monuments without all the walking. I’d look into bike tours for my family every place I go in the future. We all had a great time.

Not so sure I’d enjoy a Segway tour as much. I took this photo the following day as I did a little biking on my own.

I’ve been posting a new picture in my Facebook album, “2011 Fall Trees” every day since the first day of autumn. Once a week, I’ll post the pictures on my blog in a roundup. Click through to see this week’s shots.

Above, the gingko leaves on this tree in a secret park have just begun to change on Oct. 7. When a gingko tree is at peak color, it’s mind-blowing! Shoot it backlit for best effect.

I asked my photo family on Oct. 8 if they would help me get a tree picture for my “2011 Fall Trees” album so we looked around the Fair Haven park we were in for some fall color. There wasn’t much, but it was fun hunting until we found this oak that was just starting to turn red. Again, the shot is backlit. Very effective for making fall color pop.

Located in the cemetery by the First Presbyterian Church, this large cherry blossom tree gets all the attention in early spring when the pink blossoms take over. Still, it was a stunner in the early morning light before church on Oct. 9 too. I never really looked at cherry trees in fall before. I’m glad I did!

From the looks of it, that little love shack in the gingko tree has seen a lot of action over the years. Edison, New Jersey, Oct. 10.

‘Forest pansy’ redbuds are known for their purple spring flowers and red spring leaves. But by summer, the red usually fades to green, as shown here on this tree at St. Francis Cathedral in Metuchen on Oct. 11. In a few weeks this tree will be all yellow, but for now, it’s interesting to let the light fall on the edge of the leaf. Reminds me of a dry desert scene. Coincidence? God only knows.

These bright yellow honey locust trees kept catching my eye as I made my way around Metuchen the last few days so by 4 p.m., when I hadn’t snapped my tree picture yet for the day on Oct. 12, I asked Greg if he would help me get the shot before I had to rush off on the train to New York. He held the umbrella in one hand, and with the other hooked in my arm, neither mother nor son nor camera got soaked. That’s the sweet memory I want to hold onto with this colorful honey locust in fall picture.

Kousa dogwood trees have pretty whitish-greenish flowers for a very long time through summer. Showing pockets of reds in the leaves on picture day, Oct. 13, the leaves on this tree are overall still green. Personally, I find it interesting that there’s still evidence of a summer blossom in October. How many people walk by that tree every day on the way to the Metuchen Train Station and never even noticed it? Probably quite a few.

Check back next week for more fall tree pictures, or friend me on Facebook with a note about trees so I can add you to my tree list.

We went to Six Flags Great Adventure for Greg’s 11th birthday. The face-painting artist did a great job! I love this picture.

This picture freaks me out. How is it positioned that the last people on the right look like they’re flying off the edge? So cool!

LUCKY ME! My camera was still set on exposure settings for the top of the Bizarro ride in full sky light, and I was shooting fast on continuous mode, following the riders on all manual settings. It was a lucky accident that I was drastically underexposing — I happened to shoot at exactly the same time as the ride’s automatic flash for those ride pictures you get an opportunity to purchase at the end of the ride. SO COOL!

Dead Man’s Party is a great show! Go to Six Flags to see it! Normally the show is at night, in the dark, but we were there for the first show before the time change. Even though it wasn’t dark yet, the show was great!

I tried to get as close as I could. But it’s hard to get good pictures because so many people are standing of front of you. I think Six Flags should let me in for free so I can take awesome pictures from one of those stands they have set up for the directors. Don’t you? I would LOVE to do that!

From this shot and below are pictures from last year. I saw the show a couple of times when it was dark, and the pictures came out great despite how far back I was and how many people were in front of me. But see? Don’t you think it would be awesome if I could shoot from high up? Yes! Yes it would!

Still, I have to admit, my Six Flags pictures of Dead’s Man’s Party are pretty cool!

Even in the dark, I was able to get some really cool shots.

The music was awesome…

…and so was the dancing…

…and the costumes are great inspiration for crafting my own zombie costume this year. Think: layers and more layers and lots of holes and ripping. And lots of grey, white and purple makeup.

And the people at Six Flags who do the lighting for the show did a great job too. I was so impressed.

See what I mean? Great lighting!

And then came this huge sparkler! Since I shoot all manual settings on my camera, my fingers were moving like lightening to change the settings quickly to get this shot. Love it!

That sparker was great!

I love all the smoke and fog too.

I saw the show again last year from another angle. Very cool from this side too.

See what I mean about the lighting, makeup and costumes? It really is a fun show.

It cracks me up how people pose, smiling with the Fright Fest Zombies after the awakening each night.

I love how this picture came out. The person the zombie is looking at looks like a ghost! Have a creepy Halloween season everyone. Go to Fright Fest! It’s so much fun.

It only takes five minutes a day to snap a pretty leaf picture so I’m committed to documenting the trees this fall in my Facebook album, “2011 Fall Trees.” Once a week, I’ll post the pictures on my blog for those of you who aren’t on Facebook. Above, this image from Sept. 30 of one of my street trees, an Armstrong maple, mimics one I took several years ago, when Gregory, and the tree, were still small.

The Aristocrat Pear tree was the subject of a previous photo project in which I documented one bud on the tree for a year. I still love that little slide show, though I’m not sure what happened to the link to it. Hmmmm, must figure that one out. Above, the picture was taken on Oct. 1st, making me wonder if this tree might turn red this year. Probably not. But I like to wonder anyway, always thinking it should turn red, but it never does.

Sunday was Greg’s birthday, so we kidnapped him and took him to Six Flags as a surprise birthday outing. He was so happy! While we were there I was looking desperately for some interesting leaves to photograph for my “2011 Fall Trees” Album. Since I’m committed to posting one picture every day of fall, I couldn’t skip a day, even if it was my son’s birthday. However, after keeping my eyes peeled most of the day, there really weren’t very many interesting things going on in the trees in Jackson. Then I came upon this pretty little Sweetgum tree that even had a little fall color and gumballs too! I was so happy!

The October Glory red maple had not yet begun to show any fall color by Oct. 3 but the purple leaf plum worked nicely as a backdrop to show the leaf structure of the maple. Notice that the branches of red maple trees grow opposite each other, rather than alternating along the branch. That’s one of the things you can use to help identify red maple trees, even in winter. Click here for a cool chart I made several years ago about this tree’s fall color. You might also notice this tree has a touch of anthracnose disease — that’s what those spots on the leaves are

Even though maples can be hard to distinguish from a distance this time of year, if you look closely before the leaf-color-change begins, you’ll clearly see the bright red leaf stems of the red maples. (Sugar maples, by contrast, will have green or yellow leaf stems.) Also, notice how my Red Sunset red maple has already developed NEXT YEAR’S spring buds on Oct. 4. It’s so hopeful! I love red maples!

Grex had told me that they were talking about sassafras trees in science class so imagine my delight when I happened upon this sassafras tree just after sunrise on the morning of “Walk to School Day,” Oct. 5 I was so happy I remembered to grab my camera before we headed out on our 1.5-mile walk!

Royal Red maples emerge bright red in spring. By late summer, they’re so dark red some might call that color “mud.” In fall, they turn a dark bronze color, which is only pretty when viewed at sunrise or sunset and backlit, as shown above on Oct. 6. Otherwise, this tree is downright ugly in fall. Click here for my Tree Grower’s Diary Royal Red maple page, showing the pretty spring colors:

Check back next week for more fall tree pictures, or friend me on Facebook with a note about trees so I can add you to my tree list.