Sunbeams, mountains, and autumn maples, Utah. We were treated to some spectacular sunbeams one morning. Despite the high contrast, I was able to get detail in highlights and shadows with just one exposure. 50mm, 1/250th sec. at f/11, ISO 100, polarizer.
Claudia and I were driving to Colorado when we decided to take a little detour to the Wasatch Mountains in Utah. We’d never been there, and it looked like the bigtooth maples were nearing their peak color, so why not?
The maples, as it turned out, were spectacular, covering the hillsides with red. I’d never seen anything like it. And one day we got treated to some interesting weather, with clouds, mist, and sunbeams.
We did make it to Colorado eventually, but I’m glad we made that detour into the Wasatch Mountains. I’ll post some more Utah photographs soon, and maybe some Colorado images after that.
— Michael Frye
Maple-covered hillsides, Wasatch Mountains, UT, USA. In places the maples went on for miles and miles. 91mm, 1/15th sec. at f/11, ISO 100, polarizer.
Autumn sunrise in the Wasatch Mountains, UT, USA. My planned sunrise location didn’t work – it was too socked in. So I improvised and found this spot, with layered, distant mountains and a little foreground color. Three bracketed exposures, two stops apart, blended with Lightroom’s HDR Merge. 87mm, f/16, ISO 100.
Bigtooth maple, Utah, USA. A trailside scene with a nice mix of colors. 16mm, 1/2 sec. at f/16, ISO 100.
Related Posts: A Brief Detour through the Canyon Country; Aspen Pilgrimage
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, Yosemite Meditations for Adventurers, 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: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide. Michael has 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.
Very nice Michael. This looks like East Canyon. Thank you for always sharing your photos. They never fail to impress me. Utah is my State and I love the fall here in the Wasatch Mts. Enjoy
Thanks John! Utah is beautiful.
We have had the most annoyingly relentlessly blue skies here in Colorado for weeks, as you probably found it. Looks like snow coming up finally, although don’t know if the leaves are going to hang around long enough to get some leaf and snowy peak shots.
Utah looks interesting with the different colors than we see here in CO. Maybe one of these years….
We did catch some clouds and showers in the San Juans on Friday, but otherwise, yes, it’s been pretty sunny.
I live there and this year was
unusually beautiful due to the frequent mountain rains this summer.
That’s good to know Dee. I think the aspens in the Wasatch were late… ? They were at least 95% green.
Beautiful, Michael, a fortuitous detour! Many thanks.
Thanks Bob!
Hi Micheal- beautiful photos. I remember driving through Logan Canyon in the fall on my way home from the Tetons where I worked for the summer and saw the hillsides like this. What dates were you there?
Sorry for the typo with your name!
No worries. 🙂
Your photography is breathtaking. I love getting your updates.
Thanks so much Carol!
Hi Michael:
Were the images of the maples in the Wasatch mountains taken this October? We will be on a photo trip to SLC starting Oct 26 and wonder if we will be too late for the color.
Thanks,
Prakash
They were made at the end of September and beginning of October. October 26th will be way too late for the maples. It’s possible some aspens will still have color then, and lower-elevation cottonwoods should have color.
Michael: Thank you for your reply. We will be in Torrey Utah and hope to visit Guy Tal’s studio if possible. Please consider offering a workshop with him in the Colorado plateau area. Many of us would take that in a flash!