PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. BRUCE BAUMANN

“Is there anyplace more beautiful in fall than our own Monroe County?” we asked readers a year ago.

The question accompanied a series of pictures showing the beauty of Monroe County in autumn as few of us ever see it—taken from a helicopter flying both high and low above Bloomington and the surrounding countryside. We received so many raves from readers who felt the answer was “no,” we decided an encore was in order.

So here you have them, more pictures taken by photographer J. Bruce Baumann, shot from a craft piloted by Bob Burke of BMG Aviation.

Baumann is a former National Geographic photographer, a 50-year veteran newsman, and a member of the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame—a man eminently qualified to take pictures hanging out the window of a helicopter.

On the morning he chose to take off, an early mist rolled away to reveal lush trees at their colorful peak under a cloudless blue sky. The day was so brilliantly beautiful that it took our breath away. So, too, do these photographs.

the editor

Read the entire story here.

Read Part 1 and see more photos here.