As March heralds Australia’s autumn (What word do Americans use for ‘autumnal’?), it got me thinking about the seasons, and whether (no pun intended) they influence my photography. Am I a seasonal creature? Do the seasons dictate my toy photography?

Seasons in the ahh…bliss

We start the seasons on the first of the month. It’s a convenience thing. But summer tends to linger well into March here in Australia. We still have days worthy of trips to the beach, the wood fire remains motionless, and the evenings still have a summer balminess loitering in the air.

All this was made more relevant when I was sent an email from Shelly over the weekend. The subject of the emails was “my current view”, and all it contained was a single snapshot of a backpack and toys sitting afore a landscape of mountains and snow. I was sat before my laptop in shorts looking at my friend’s weekend adventures in the snow.

Seasons: Snowtroopers skiing behind a Tauntaun

“Snow?”

Snow! We don’t get snow where we live. Some nearby towns get a smattering of snow in winter, but to get to ‘real’ snow, it’s a 4-hour drive. So what photos do I take in winter without a blanket of white as a backdrop?

All the leaves are brown
And the sky is grey
I’ve been for a walk
On a winter’s day
Hi-Standard – California Dreamin’
*yes, I know it’s not their song

I scrolled back to my last winter on Instagram.

Beach photos?

Last Spring. Beach photos. Last autumn. Beach photos again. And summer? Yep, more beach photos.

Not a single winter hint…er?

So maybe the seasons don’t influence me. Sure, the wind in autumn can test my patience. The sun rises later in winter, giving me extra time in bed before I have to head off to the beach to capture the sunrise. As winter subsides, spring brings on a renewed vigour with its proclamation of improved weather. And the season of summer rewards us with more hours of daylight than the other three.

Seasons: Mr. Freeze in a sombrero and rubber duck

“Begone summer!”

OK, we don’t get the extremes in weather here that others do with the changing seasons. I’m sure my Swedish friends Christoffer and Carin will contend that 40°C in summer is extreme, but I’d retort that -20°C in winter is far more extreme!

Summer’s here put the top down and drive
Summer’s here now we’re being burnt alive
Frenzal Rhomb – Summer’s Here

Looking back through my photos on Instagram, it’s difficult to distinguish the seasons from one photo to the next, without looking at the date. Without a visual clue as to whether its summer or winter, autumn or spring, the photos give no clues as to when they were taken.

If my photos were in police line-up, winter would get away scot-free, as would its three cyclical accomplices.

– Brett

As the seasons change, does your toy photography change with them?

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