Autumn is in full swing, as the crisp air settles in and the leaves put on a colorful show before the blanket the ground. While the fall colors have given way to the first mountain snows here in Colorado, much of the U.S. continues to enjoy nature’s beautiful autumn tapestry of reds, oranges, and yellows. Fall is truly one of my favorite seasons to photograph, especially here in Colorado, and I’m thrilled to share what I’ve been up to!
During a few days in late September and early October I was able to grab my camera and chase the fall colors, enjoying all that autumn has to offer in Colorado. For the first time in many years, I ventured back to the area around Crested Butte and Kebler Pass in Colorado’s Elk Mountain range. The weather was beautiful for hiking and exploring with unseasonably warm temperatures and mainly bright, blue skies. While I didn’t get to experience the clash of seasons I was hoping to photograph, with moody, stormy skies and golden yellow colors mixed with a first snowfall, the forests of aspen trees were quite colorful. The bright blue skies were a great backdrop for the vibrant yellows and golds and patches of red and orange. The scenes along Kebler Pass were captivating with sweeping vistas of mountainsides blanketed in brightly colored aspen trees beneath rugged alpine peaks. The only thing that could have made these views better was a little snow on the peaks. Here are a couple of quintessential autumn views from Kebler Pass featuring East Beckwith Mountain looming over the colorful aspen forest below.
I also spent some time in Summit County, Colorado visiting a few old stand-by locations that I know quite well and exploring a couple of new, less well-travelled areas. After capturing the sweeping mountain vistas along Kebler Pass, I tried to focus on more intimate forest scenes in the Summit County areas I knew well and came away with some compelling, new trailside compositions. One of my favorites is below.
While the new trails and areas that I explored were each fun and invigorating hikes, and a great respite out in nature, they were a mixed bag from a photography perspective. A lengthy sunrise hike to Willow Lakes didn’t yield the hoped-for colorful sunrise shot or an abundance of fall colors along the trail. It was still a great workout and a scenic destination, worthy of another attempt at better lighting.
However, my very early wake-up and pre-dawn ascent in the dark to capture this sunrise view overlooking the Copper Mountain ski resort was definitely worth the effort. As an added bonus, on the way back down from the ridgeline between Breckenridge and Copper Mountain I came across an amazing carpet of red and yellow on the forest floor and was reminded that autumn’s beauty isn’t limited to just the changing colors of the trees.
This year’s fall trip was another incredible experience being out in nature, exploring new trails, and chasing the perfect light in search of amazing autumn compositions. While it took me longer than I expected to go through all of the images, I wanted to share my experiences, and a few of my favorite new art pieces, with you here first- before they’re released. Thank you for the opportunity to share my experiences and artwork with you!
