Country Road

I think what I love most about photography is, sometimes, there's a sense of mystery surrounding an image.
It can come from wondering how a photographer made an image. I can also come from what's not shown in what otherwise a fairly straight-forward photograph.
This is one of the later. I really enjoy autumn, particularly in the Midwest, when everything goes from shades of green to a myriad different hues.
This image just works for me on many different levels. I like the colors, obviously. But it works, too, on several, more subtle levels I enjoy.
There's a circular nature to the image, created by the trees, arching over the road. Everything in the image leads to a central point, giving the image an almost three-dimensional sense of perspective.
There's also the sense of mystery, a "what's around the corner," I think really brings me in to a photo.
As a child, I always wondered, "What's over there?" "How's that work?" "What am I missing?"
I think that's part of the reason I became a journalist. I always want to know what I'm missing, what's happening behind the scenes I'm not seeing.
This image triggers those same thoughts in my head. When I shot it, I was on my way home from work. As I've said before, I enjoy taking alternate routes from my office to my home, just to see what I might be missing by driving the regular, quicker highway.
I do that when I travel, too, if I have the time. I'd rather take back, country roads or smaller, less-traveled highways rather than interstates. Sure, it takes a little longer to get there, but what I see along the way more than makes up for it.
Anyway, driving home this day, I went right past this little t-intersection. I caught a glimpse of this road out of the corner of my eye and, within a few seconds, was hunting for a place to turn around.
I think my favorite part of this image is what's not there: What's around the corner?
I don't know. I didn't drive down to find out. I didn't want to spoil the mystery.
That, for me, is what makes images like this one fun.