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Autumn at the pagoda
ShortShorts

Autumn at the pagoda

Noa Park Noa Park Subscribe

Ten seconds of autumn at a hillside pagoda, with the mountain behind and the trees around it turning red and gold.

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Autumn colour around the pagoda, with the mountain in the distance. Vertical.

Why vertical

The pagoda is tall, the mountain is behind it and the trees are below. A vertical frame holds all three, stacked on top of each other, which is how you see them from the viewing platform. A horizontal frame would have cut either the tower or the trees.

The maples turn red in the second week of November. A week later, most of the leaves have fallen.
The maples turn red in the second week of November. A week later, most of the leaves have fallen.

The crowd

This is one of the most photographed views in the country. By eight o'clock, the viewing platform is full. We arrived at six, set up at the end of the railing and had about forty minutes of space before the first tour group arrived.

The edit

We filmed for half an hour and used ten seconds: the moment a light wind moved the maples while the pagoda and the mountain stayed perfectly still. That contrast is the whole film.

The timing

Noa had checked the leaf reports for three weeks. Local websites publish how far the colour has turned in each area, almost day by day. We booked the trip for the day the reports said "peak", and the forecast said clear.

Autumn is a deadline. The leaves do not wait for good weather.

Noa Park
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Is it crowded?

Very, after eight in the morning. Go early, and be patient with everyone else who had the same idea.

Did you need a permit?

No, for handheld filming from the public platform. A tripod blocks the path, so we held the camera on the railing.

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