After spending almost all of Sunday in airports and on airplanes, Monday was a delightful day at sea level in Portland, Maine. My photo buddy Fausto and I decided to spend the day exploring an area near our hotel while we waited for our friends to arrive. We walked a half mile to the Warren Woods Trailhead down the road, then spent the next four hours meandering the trail discovering and enjoying the woodland area which is unlike forests we’re used to in California. The trees here are just starting to turn but because of a drought, many of the leaves are turning brown instead of red. The splash of light and the blush of red on two Red Maple leaves caught my attention. Despite the imperfection of these leaves, both under attack from insects, they are still quite gorgeous and a delightful hint of fall color. My Nikon Z7 and the new Nikkor 24-200mm were the perfect companions for the walk. What I forgot to slip into my pocket was the circular polarizer which was something I could have used to remove the reflections on some of the red leaves we did see.