Why Photograph This?

I wonder why I am drawn to make photographs like this.  A wintry, cold, overcast day in early January.   Lake Johnson, in Raleigh, a walk I love to make often and have only begun to photograph.  Rain the day before.  Fallen leaves along the marsh’s margin.  A somewhat dark composition, although the sky’s reflection and the grasses in the background give it a little tonal lift.  Is the subject beautiful?

I think so, in my cracked way of looking at things.  I’ve taken many photos like this over the years.  I used to categorize them as “Common Places” but I think they’re more special than that.  I don’t know how to label such scenes, but maybe it’s not necessary to do so.

Which gets me back to my original question:  Why do I photograph a scene like this?  That’s a question that’s at the heart of all art, I guess. I know some will say it’s not beautiful, but perhaps we will agree scenes like these are compelling in their own way; they focus attention, at least for a little while.  Winter, they say.  Death and rebirth.  Darkness and soon the light.