photobyjohnbo

Cellpic Sunday—Fall Colors on a Rainy Drive

Scenic drive on a moody autumn morning

October 2025.
Hollis, Arkansas.

On our fall trip last October, we stayed overnight at Hot Springs, Arkansas. As we settled into our hotel for the night, I was already anticipating the next day’s scenic drive. As the state’s first officially designated scenic byway, Arkansas Highway 7 runs roughly 290 miles (467 km) north–south across the entire state, cutting through four distinct geographic regions.

As we left Hot Springs, the scenic drive quickly turned into a rainy day of travel. From the back seat of the Suburban, I managed to capture the early fall colors through the windshield. These images reflect that rainy morning stretch through the Ouachita National Forest, where the autumn colors softened into the mist before the heavy weather finally convinced me to put the phone away.

Arkansas autumn in the rain
Arkansas autumn in the rain

This image was captured out the side window as we drove along a misty hillside. Along this stretch of Arkansas State Highway 7 (AR-7), the road winds through the Ouachita National Forest, and in the fall the colors can be beautiful—even though we were just a bit early for peak. While the southern end of the highway has its own autumn charm, the scenery truly peaks as the route climbs north through the Arkansas River Valley and into the Ozarks, offering spectacular vantage points for fall photography. I’ve scheduled this post for late August, so you can plan an AR‑7 scenic drive to hit peak colors, which typically occur in early to mid‑November.

About the photos: These images were captured from a moving car with my Samsung S25 Ultra, both shot in RAW using Pro mode. For the first image, I set the shutter speed manually to 1/30 sec to introduce a touch of motion blur in the wiper and the passing scenery, enhancing the misty atmosphere. I cropped it to a cinematic 2.33:1 aspect ratio, leaving just enough of the dashboard to anchor the wiper’s base. For the second image, I used a faster shutter speed of 1/500 sec to avoid motion blur and preserve detail in the leaves. The resulting auto‑ISO of 3200 required a trip through Lightroom Classic’s Denoise tool. Both images received a light touch of Accent AI in Luminar Neo to finish the edits. To view the images in 2K HD or check out the metadata, see them on my Flickr album here.

John Steiner.

45 comments

    • We’ve had a beautiful summer here in North Dakota, though early on it was quite warm. We’ve already had 25 days over 32°C this year—compared to a typical summer with about 14 such days.

      Reply

      • We had it hot and humid, a few time cracking 40°C which never happened in year’s before (maybe a couple of time in the last decade). Gardens look like dustbowls (almost unheard of) and some smaller towns have started with water restrictions (very, very unusual). 😥

  11. Oh these are both superb images! I love rainy moody scenes, John. The motion blur on the windshield wiper is picture perfect and speaks volumes to the sense of travel/journey. I appreciated the added info on the stunning beauty of this scenic highway’s landscape.

    Thank you for sharing your image processing acumen.

    Reply

  12. I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you recorded the date (October!!!!!!!). 😄

    Seriously, though John, I loved reading your narrative. As always, it was interesting and I like that you record the gear (phone, in this case) and software you use. For someone still in the learning process, it’s so very helpful. I’m still not using my cell phone for photography – I can’t seem to hold the damned thing steady when I press the button, resulting in some wildly, um, artistic(?) shots. Great post to begin our Sunday morning, thank you. pp

    Reply

  21. Who’s driving here, John? I hope Lynn is driving while you’re misting through AR. The colors are so beautiful, and I like the motion blur. It works especially well with the title of Moody Morning.

    We miss the beautiful fall colors in CA and in AZ – at least from the trees. AZ holds it beauty in the rocks, and CA, well, CA is just beautiful. Hope your week is going well.

    Reply

    • Never fear, Marsha. On our fall trips, we team with my niece and her husband, riding in their big SUV. Lynn and I sit elevated in the back seat. I take a lot of photos through the rear driver’s side window, and like the windshield shot, through the windshield when I feel like it. >grin<
      We get some beautiful fall colors in North Dakota, before we head south to Arizona. No denying the beauty of Arizona and California scenery.

      Reply

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