I asked a friend recently what her favorite season was, she answered – “fall.” In fact she had her seasons rated 1 thru 4 with great confidence. I’m a bit more complicated maybe. I like fall visually, the colors thrill me. But i think my favorite season emotionally is spring. I like the beginnings of things more than the ends. Fall makes me feel more like the end of something is coming.
Fall is a thrilling time for a visual person though and I welcome it even with its shorter days and with the knowledge that winter is close. When I have the opportunity to work with all that fall color, the only thing that can make things better is a reflection. The best way to achieve a reflection of fall colors is in water. Water bodies display the colors which they reflect back to us in shades which are slightly deeper. So if there are brightly colored leaves on those trees, the water reflection will be quite spectacular.
In this image below which was made in the Delaware Water Gap in PA during an especially magnificent fall, I composed tightly to just emphasize the reflection. The image takes on a rather impressionistic feel with just the reflection of color and line. I then cropped the image to a panoramic 7×14 (2:1 ratio) and inverted it so that the trees are “right-side up.” Inverting the image emphasizes the impressionistic elements I feel.
The image was made with a Canon 5D and a Canon EF 28-300mm L lens. I no longer have either the camera or the lens, but for several years this was my favorite landscape outfit.
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Paul Grecian - Photography 
I am with you, Paul, that although it is beautiful, fall is a melancholy season. This image evokes that ephemeral beauty that is the season. Masterful, as usual.