Autumn colors, Gunnison NF, CO, USA
I love photographing aspens. Their autumn color is wonderful, but it’s also those tall, straight, white trunks that make them so compelling.
It’s been a long-time dream of mine to photograph aspens in Colorado in the fall, but various obligations and commitments kept me from going. This year, however, Claudia and I found a brief time slot and decided to go. And we’re so glad we did, as it’s just beautiful here. Some high-elevation areas, like Crested Butte, are past peak, and others seem to be turning late, but we’ve found some wonderful color in several places, and an endless supply of great photo subjects. Here are some photographs from the past few days, and I’ll post more when I get a chance.
Clouds are streaming up into Colorado from the remnants of tropical storm Simon, so we might not see the lunar eclipse tonight. But skies look clear in many other parts of the country, so I wish all of you eclipse photographers good luck.
We’ll be heading back to California in a few days. I’m looking forward to photographing more aspens in my favorite eastern Sierra locations when we get back!
— Michael Frye
Late-afternoon sunlight in an aspen forest, Gunnison NF, CO, USA
Aspen-lined lake, Uncompahgre NF, CO, USA
Related Posts: Lunar Eclipse Wednesday Morning; North Lake Sunrise, and an Early Fall Color Report
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Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author or principal photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, Yosemite Meditations for Women, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters. He has also written three eBooks: Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, Exposure for Outdoor Photography, and Landscapes in Lightroom 5: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide. Michael written numerous magazine articles on the art and technique of photography, and his images have been published in over thirty countries around the world. Michael has lived either in or near Yosemite National Park since 1983, currently residing just outside the park in Mariposa, California.
Beautiful Michael, thanks for sharing. I just booked a room at June Lake for this Sat/Tue. I’m looking forward to the trip. Maybe we will cross paths. 🙂
Thanks John, and maybe I’ll see you on the eastside.
Michael,
I am so glad you made it to Colorado in the fall! I have lived here since 1976 and have missed only one or two autumns of venturing into the mountains to capture images of the changing of the aspens. Gunnison National forest, especially Ohio and Kebler Passes are fantastic areas for photographing them. The yellow, gold and salmon colored leaves are certainly fantastic but, you are correct, it is the aspen trunks that can make the pictures superb and yours certainly are.
It is difficult to stray away from the vistas of the different colored clones of aspen trees in a wide angle landscape and concentrate on the intimate details of the trunks but you did just that in your “Late afternoon sunlight in an aspen forest” image. This year I was fortunate to catch some strands of these trees at their peak change on Boreas Pass (not far from Breckenridge) and forced myself to do more close up and intimate views of the aspens. My favorite is shown on the link below. I was able to include a thicket of trunks and yet still add leaves for some autumn color.
http://mountainmemories.zenfolio.com/p603658549/h2dc6151f#h2dc6151f
This fall has been one of the best aspen changes in recent years as the last winter and summer were wetter than usual and September had nice warm days and very cool nights – a perfect formula for these trees. May you and Claudia have many more autumn pilgrimages to the Centennial State!
Jim
Thanks Jim, and we are really enjoying our visit to your home state. I hope we get to come back again next year.
Gorgeous capture. I love Colorado in the fall….actually anytime.
Thank you Felicia, and you’re right, Colorado is a beautiful state!
I too am out looking for aspens. I found that some have turned and some are just turning. It seems that if you stay at lower elevations the aspen are just right. Looks like you found what you are looking for- I like the global look that you have done. Have fun.
Good luck in your hunting Yvonne!
The Aspen photos are simply breathtaking. I have relatives in Denver and have had the opportunity to see some of Colorado’s fall color in the past, and as a transplanted Easterner, I recall vividly the spectacular color in New England at this time of year. Any information on when we can see autumn color in Yosemite Valley?
Thanks John! Peak fall color in Yosemite Valley is usually around the end of October or beginning of November. It can vary by several weeks. It’s nothing like New England or Colorado, but the setting is great.
Welcome to Colorado! It looks like I just missed you. I was down shooting in this area the past two weekends (I even took some pictures at that same lake). It would have been cool to run into you. I can’t wait to see some of the other shots you get on this trip.
Thanks Cameron! Sorry I missed you, but I’m glad you got to photograph the aspens.
What a nice welcome to Colorado, Michael — I’ve heard it said that this year has been the best foliage in 14 years! Certainly better than last year with the colors changing several weeks late and the floods in the Front Range. You found some nice, health stands without lots of standing dead or names, initials, etc. carved into the trunks!
We heard it was a good year Monika, which is one of the reasons we came. I haven’t found many initials on trees; there are certainly a lot of aspens, and it’s hard for the carvers to reach every one. 🙂
Hi Michael…Really enjoy reading your blogs and seeing all of your wonderful photos of Colorado. I, too, love the fall colors. My husband and I have a second home in the Stanislaus National Forest and took a day ride earlier this week over Sonora Pass in search of color…and we found it!
Thanks Adelaide! I don’t often get up there, but Sonora Pass has some beautiful aspens; glad you found them.
IF YOU HAD A NUMBER OF ABOUT EQUALLY GOOD PHOTOS WITH STRONG DIAGONALS, WHAT CRITERIA WOULD YOU UST TO EVAUATE THE IMAGES IF YOU COPIED THEM IN MIRROR IMAGE, OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT A FEW OF THESE HAD OBVIOUS SIGNALS, SUCH AS A STREE SIGN OR WHATEVER, OR WHERE THE SCENES WERE VERY FAMILIAR TO SOME VIEWERS?
Alan, if you’re talking about flipping images horizontally, that’s something I never do. If I did, and was trying to decide which version I liked best, my criterion would be which one looked better to me. There’s no formula for anything in photography.