Photographing the Golden Colors of Fall in Colorado.

Colorado’s dominant fall color is GOLD.  The quintessential Colorado tree is, of course, the aspen. The brilliant golden yellow aspen can be used as a main subject in itself, a background for autumn animal scenery or part of a magnificent fall landscape. Because of elevation changes, the peak color season can last from late September through October. During that time you are bound to find glorious fall color somewhere in Colorado.  Enjoy this beautiful season!

Several websites include a “Colorado Fall Foliage Guide” and suggestions for fall photography itineraries.  Here are some addresses:

http://parks.state.co.us/Fall : Current conditions of the fall foliage in the different state parks.
http://www.phototravel.com/sample/co_fall.htm: Scenic fall itineraries all over Colorado.
http://www.colorado.com/article23: Scenic fall itineraries in different parts of Colorado along with a complete fall foliage guide.

Mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elks and deer are among the many animal species you can photograph in fall in Colorado.

·        Mountain goats live on rocky slops above timberline and you can find them in places like Mount Evans and San Juan Mountains. They loose their fur coat in spring and by fall their new fur coat is white and clean.

·        The bighorn sheep is the symbol of the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Bighorns are animals of the high mountains, ranging at or above timberline on steep grassy slopes and in mountain meadows. At the end of fall they descend to lower elevation mountain parks and valleys. The bighorn's behavior during the mid-November to December rut is perhaps the most dramatic of any species.

·        Bull Elk are found from the foothills of the Front Range to the western border of the state.  There is a large concentration in Rocky Mountain National Park. During the rut, which peaks in late September and early October, the animals come together in groups sometimes numbering hundreds in open valleys and mountain parks.  There is noisy bugling and the crashing of antlers as the males challenge each other for mates.

 To learn more about autumn animals and wildlife in Colorado visit the following websites:

http://wildlife.state.co.us/Education/TeacherResources/ColoradoWildlifeCompany/AutAnimalsCWCFall1997.htm: “The Animals of Autumn in CO”
http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/Profiles/: “Wildlife Species, CO”

The best times of the day to shoot landscape photography are Sunrise and Sunset.  At those times the light is horizontal giving the subject a strong three-dimensional quality. The light, which is both soft and warm, is extremely pleasing to the eye. During the rest of the day, search for overcast light and open shade light.  These soft and diffuse lights will result in the best quality photos as they produce intense colors with no hard shadows. Backlight, when the sun is located behind the object, gives a dramatic effect to the landscape.  The result can be amazing, but the backlit photos are usually more technically challenging because the contrast is very high.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/composition-4.shtml: A good article to learn how to find the best light for landscape photography.
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneYear.html: Sunset and Sunrise timetable for one year per region.

Some of our Fall artwork:

The Aspen Tree, a Subject in Itself (Yellow Aspen Trees, Rocky Mountain National Park)

 “Aspen Trees are stunning trees: white vertical thin trunks and very bright green leaves that turn yellow in the fall. When backlit or side lit, the yellow leaves sparkle in golden shades. However, my favorite light is an overcast sky, or open shade. Under these soft lights, details are preserved, and color saturation is maximized.”

The Aspen Trees, a scenery for Wildlife (Elk under Aspen Trees, Rocky Mountain National Park)

“The position of the Elk in this picture is powerful: occupying one small corner, facing directly toward the camera, the elk stands out because it sits on the edge of the picture, between the dark grass in the shadows and the lighter grass under the sky. The Elk gives an indication on how large these aspen trees are.”

Aspen Tree foliage, a powerful background for a wildlife close-up(Blue Jay & Yellow Aspen Leaves, Rocky Mountain National Park)

  “I grabbed a long lens, decided on a direction to shoot where the aspen yellow foliage, backlit by the noon’s sun, would show up as a totally yellow background for the bird. Blue on yellow is always a pleasing contrast: blue is a cold color, yellow is very warm.
The first pictures had very high contrast, due to the sun backlighting the yellow foliage. A few minutes later, some clouds provided an opportunity to shoot the same setting under a nice even overcast light”

Backlighting for a Dramatic Effect (Dramatic Fall Skies at Long Lake, Lake Brainard Recreation Area, Ward, Colorado)

“With the altitude, Fall arrives one month prior to the Denver area. A stormy sky above the Indian Peaks, and an overcast sky above the lake, rare at this altitude, allowed for a soft shadow less rendering of the scene, outlining the calm and serenity of the warm colors of Fall.”

To view more of our Colorado Fall Photography, visit: http://www.albumofart.com/gallery/colorado_gallery01.htm