Fungi are beautiful to capture and can be found in great variety on nature trails where I live throughout the year. This Turkey Tail mushroom is a decomposer sighted on an old log and it has all but dried up in the late summer heat. The structure and formations of fungi never cease to amaze me. 

The first fallen leaves mark the beginning of the fall season on a trail not traveled, early in the morning. 

Fungi are beautiful to capture and can be found in great variety on nature trails where I live throughout the year. This Turkey Tail mushroom is a decomposer sighted on an old log and it has all but dried up in the late summer heat. The structure and formations of fungi never cease to amaze me. 

There are a few species of plants that I look out for every year because they can be hard to detect. This is a Purple Passionflower and it is native to Florida. Here in Alabama, I have sighted this flower for the first time two years ago while on the trail that I have been running on for ten years. It doesn't bloom long, at least not here, and can hide among other brushes, so it is most special to catch this intricate flowering plant in bloom.

Catching the right moment for an incredible scene is in part patience and in part luck. Along the wetlands of the nature preserve where I run, I have learned over the years and seasons where the best spots are for certain scenery. Yet, a glorious moment like beholding this sunrise through the trees, makes everything stand still and take your breath. With this photograph, I will always share the memory of the moment with a stranger, an older gentleman with a cane who came up to witness the beautiful sight, and whom I guided to the best spot to capture a photo. It couldn't have been more perfect. 

Photographer’s Biography

I'm a hobby photographer and runner in my spare time, and you can often find me gazing at nature when I'm on the trail in search of the perfect light or fogscape creating a scene just right. I live in northern Alabama, and what draws me to nature photography is the uncurated beauty along the paths I take here. There's always something to discover, and finding something exquisite in the ordinary has been my mantra since I started running ten years ago. The scenes I capture in their natural, untouched beauty, I feature on Instagram or on my site Through Novel Time and Distance. Most of my followers know me as Scarlett Readz and Runz, and as the name gives away, I'm an avid reader who dabbles into reviewing books when time allows. I have a penchant for words, fine arts and history. When followers reach out to me to tell me they love my morning story on Instagram with a new daily capture from the trail, it makes my day a better one!