The arrival of autumn usually brings two colorful tree images to mind, the Appalachians and New England with their brilliant maples. and the Rocky Mountains and their aspens groves, usually bright yellow, sometimes reddish orange. However, the Front Range of Colorado was unusually warm and dry this past summer, so the fall colors around us have been muted. Nevertheless, there was fog in the area presented some photographic opportunities.
Suggestion: these images are better observed on a larger screen rather than a telephone.
Here, the bright yellow aspens accompanied by tall grass and the heart pine gate and fence posts, bolstered by lodge pole struts, are remnants of earlier times.
At higher elevations the dominant trees are evergreens with aspen groves scattered about. When the aspens have shed most of their leaves, but not all, their white trunks and remaining yellow leaves are spectacular against the dark green fir and spruce trees.
The final scene came from our back yard aspen grove adjacent to the road. I had envisioned a completely different shot when I stepped out of the car, but it just wasn’t there. So in turning in a different direction to return to the car I looked back, and there “it” was. It’s the same with hiking; stop periodically and turn around to observe that which you have just passed. You will invariably see something you missed in passing. This is perhaps my favorite of these three photographs. The subject is more diffuse, but the shapes and the colors lead or move one’s eye into the scene, It was that fading edge that led me to capture the scene. The autumn snowfall began a few days later.
