AutumnEvery day millions of people probably look at this image on the right. It's one of the more restful options supplied as part of the default Windows installation.

How many people have been soothed by the restful colors without ever really thinking more deeply about the source of the image.

Who was the photographer?

Where did they take it?

Was it really Autumn or was it a photoshop job on a carefully staged scene?

Was it taken in the US, or England, Japan or Russia?

Well, I like a million other people never really thought more about this image or where it came from or the story behind it... luckily for us Nick Tosches at Vanity Fair did get a bee in his bonnet and started on the long and sometimes tortuous task of finding the origins of this much loved but at the same time overlooked picture.

I somehow feel better knowing the story... but now I'm wondering about some of the others...

Update: for some background images check out this collection (pure coincidence that the photographer in question is my boss!)