I visited the Japanese Gardens in Portland, Oregon, like most years during autumn. I have a photographer membership because they require it if you do any kind of commercial selling of photographs taken in the gardens. It also allows you to go early during hours set aside for members only. Springtime is also a magical time to visit, but autumn is my favorite time of year to capture the beauty there.

This famous maple tree is always a show-stopper and very popular among photographers. In some years, it can get very busy around the little tree. This is another reason why I'm grateful for the early member hours. I had gone on a day when there was a break in the rain. On this particular day, there was no wind or rain. And to make it an even better day to photograph this tree, there was a little bit of sun between the cloud cover. This made for some very special lighting within the garden.

I happened to photograph the tree a little too early when the leaves were yellow and just starting to get slightly red. As it turned out, this is probably my favorite photo that I've taken of this tree. I love the golden tones. I planned to return the following week, but because Mother Nature is unpredictable, the high winds in the area blew all the leaves down and stripped them bare. I am pleased with all the photos I took that day.

I'm looking forward to my next visit back to the Japanese Gardens.