Maine trees, burning bright

Photo by Gregory Rec

Captured with a slow shutter speed, which blurs their motion, birch leaves lit up by sunlight sway in the wind near a dam along Swan Pond Creek in Goodwins Mills. Buy this photo

Photo by Derek Davis

Trees show off their colors on the shoreline of Baskahegan Lake in Topsfield on Sept. 25.

Photo by Gregory Rec

Sunshine lights up a ridge of trees while a higher ridge stays in shadow in the Balface Royce Range on the Maine-New Hampshire border on Oct. 8.

Photo by Derek Davis

Leaves float in the Little Ossipee River in Limington. Chlorophyll, which gives leaves their green color, breaks down in the fall, revealing yellow, oranges and reds.

Photo by Brianna Soukup

A blur of colorful foliage in the yard of a home on the road between Belfast and Gardiner in Windsor looks painterly when taken with the camera set to a slow shutter speed. Buy this Photo

Photo by Gregory Rec

Against a backdrop of foliage beginning to turn colors, a great blue heron perches on a rock in the Mousam River in Kennebunk on Sept. 30.

Photo by Derek Davis

Leaves are illuminated in late-afternoon sunlight along Little Ossipee River in Limington.

Photo by Michele McDonald

Bright yellow and orange lichens frame yellow-leaved trees on Monhegan Island on Sept. 27. Lichens are so sensitive to air quality that they are used as a fresh air environmental indicator. The more sunlight they get, the more color some lichens give.

Photo by Derek Davis

Illuminated leaves in late-afternoon sunlight along Little Ossipee River in Limington. Temperature, the amount of daylight and water supply all influence the degree and duration of fall color.

Photo by Brianna Soukup

Colorful leaves seen through windows of a Montville cabin on Sept. 28.

Photo by Derek Davis

A rainbow along Cape Road in Limington after a brief rain shower. Severe drought during the growing season usually makes tree leaves change color earlier, and the color lasts for a shorter period of time. Some trees respond to drought stress by skipping fall color change – the leaves just turn brown and fall off quickly.

Photo by Derek Davis

A view of Long Pond from North Road in Limerick in early October.

Photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette

A colorful leaf floats in Stackpole Creek at Horton Woods in Saco as light rain hits the water on Oct. 2.

Photo by Derek Davis

A street lamp lights the foliage on Sokokis Trail North in Limerick.

Photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette

Fallen leaves and needles make a pattern with tree roots on a trail at Horton Woods in Saco.

Photo by Brianna Soukup

The Kennebec River in Pittston is dotted with colorful foliage in a scene that suggests the end of summer. Buy this Photo

Photo by Derek Davis

Fallen leaves collect on the roof of a barn in Parsonsfield. Maine’s fall foliage coordinator, Gale Ross, says this is one of the quickest foliage seasons she’s seen in years of reporting. Buy this Photo

Photo by Brianna Soukup

Colorful leaves float in the northern headwaters of the Sheepscot River at Whitten Hill Preserve. The water level was dramatically low and water was not flowing downstream. Much of Maine experienced drought this summer. Buy this Photo

Photo by Gregory Rec

A road winds through colorful foliage near the height of land in Evans Notch. This area is where the watersheds for the Saco and Androscoggin rivers diverge. Buy this Photo

Photo by Brianna Soukup

Fog masks a colorful hill on a farm in Montville. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry reported past peak conditions this weekend for most of northern, western and central Maine. Buy this Photo