This page features just a few of the many photos I captured over a period of about a month.

The Tetons – Wyoming

I was in Jackson Hole, WY for a few days either side of September 24.  Grasses and shrubs were changing, along with a few willows and cottonwoods in the river bottoms. It was too early for the aspens at Oxbow, so I stayed south. The moose and elk rut was well under way.  This bull had stripped his velvet and was courting a nearby cow. 

Schwabacher Landing, one of the most popular photo spots in Grand Teton National Park, was beginning to change. Clouds lifted over the Tetons for a few minutes, then filled in solid again.

This bull moose was seen along the Gros Ventre River early on my last day in the Tetons. Cottonwoods were starting to change. I was either too early for the Jackson Hole foliage, or the the changes were late. Actually, I was early, but I needed to head south.

Bondourant – Wyoming

On one of my days in Jackson, I headed south to Bondourant to try to find some yellow aspens. That area, along with the Pinedale region is higher in elevation and typically gets a head start on the foliage season. I found several hillsides with a good showing of color.

Idaho

I only passed through one morning on my way from Jackson to Idaho Falls. The Teton Valley on the west side was still green, so I didn’t take photos. Typically, while living in Jackson Hole, I made a late season drive over Teton Pass to capture the color in the changing aspens. 

Highway 39 – Monte Cristo -Utah

The “plan” was to take the most scenic route on my way back to my home in Loveland, CO. After my appointment in Idaho Falls, I headed south to Ogden, UT where I took the Scenic Biway 39 towards Woodruff, UT. (Note: Hightwy 39 is closed during the winter months.) Leaving, Ogden, I began seeing hillsides full of Mountain Maple trees. The winding road passes the Monte Cristo campground at roughly 9,000 feet elevation. 

Highway 39 had a fair amount of brightly colored maples. This photo shows the various changes that can occur, from green to red and even deep maroon. I’ve always heard that pass was spectacular in the fall. I’d definitely recommend it.

While some areas were brightly colored, it was apparent I was passing through three or four days before peak. Is I made my way to the top of the pass, maples were replaced with changing aspens. After dropping down to the high plains regions at Woodruff and Evanston, it was apparent that fall changes were still a couple of weeks away.

Flaming Gorge – Utah

I passed by Flaming Gorge Reservoir on my way to Vernal, UT. The area has great fly fishing on the Green River, but is not known for an abundance of aspens and cottonwoods. I stopped for this late sunset shot, then drove the winding road to Vernal, UT in the dark. 

If you are into dinosaurs, Vernal, UT is your place! My priority this trip was mountain color so I got up early and headed towards Grand Junction and Montrose, CO. Another 35 miles of driving brought me to Ouray, CO!

Million Dollar Highway : Ouray to Durango, CO

Ouray, CO is the northen gateway city for the “Million Dollar Highway”. The narrow road winds its way over three high mountain passes to end up at Durango, CO. Up to this point on my extended trek home, I was missing peak by three or four days. Not here. I hit it in its prime!

Large numbers of tourists and photographers flock to Grand Teton National Park for the fall foliage season. Believe me, I get it! It’s difficult to beat having the Grand or Mt. Moran as a backdrop, but this area is equally spectacular. Instead of stands of aspens and cottonwoods, entire mountainsides of aspens are common..

There was a feast for the eyes in almost any direction. 

It took me a while to realize I wasn’t in a National Park! It felt like I should be, but there weren’t any park rangers or Wildlife Management teams. Instead, the Million Dollar Highway spans several counties and several National Forests. There were a few somewhat congested areas, but generally, tourists went from pullout to pullout. I enjoyed the relaxed feel of the drive.

The Durango & Silverton trains run daily in the spring, summer, and fall months. I tried to time my days to catch the train as it entered SIlverton. As you can see, colorful aspens accented the hillsides while I was there.

More Million Dollar Highway to Come!

I took over 3000 images exploring the Million Dollar Highway. After returning home, I sat down and processed 75 or more of them, and I know there are a lot more worthy of processing. Unfortunately, space on this page is limited and I have other fall photos to include here. Not to worry…I am going to create a separate page featuring the Million Dollar Highway. Watch for it!

Ouray to Loveland

I was in Ouray during one of their busiest periods…peak fall foliage! That’s great, except for the fact every room in Ouray was booked out, along with most of the rooms in Montrose, 35 miles away.  I would have loved stay in Ouray for several more days! I spent one night in Montrose and was up early. By about 2:00 pm, I had to make the tough “executive decision” to continue on home. It felt like abandoning a gold mine. From Ouray, I traveled towards Carbondale, CO. I crossed a couple of beautiful passes along the way. This photo was taken along a winding road between Somerset and Redstone. 

By the time I took this photo, the sun was dropping low in the west.  Crystal Creek runs alongside the roadway near Redstone, CO. That area is definitely on my “go back” list. By the time I made it to  Carbondale, it was getting late. By the time I made to Glenwood Springs to enter I-70, it was dark. I drove the rest of the way home in the using my headlights and wishing I could see the terrain I was passing by. 

Estes Park, RMNP, and Big Thompson Canyon : CO

The entrance gate to Rocky Mountain National Park is 30 miles from my driveway. Even at that relatively short distance, I only get up there once in a while so far. I drove up a couple of times during the fall Elk rut as some of the cottonwoods and aspens were turning. 

There are stands of aspens and cottonwoods in RMNP, but they don’t dominate the hillsides . Unlike the Tetons, elk in RMNP are tolerant of humans watching their fall activity.   

I bumped into numerous photographers I used to see in Grand Teton National Park in RMNP during the Elk rut. Many people told me the main rut was late this year, but a few told me it was right on time. 

RMNP is still new to me so I drove around a lot, just exploring. A stand of sunlit aspens was being reflected in the shallow creek near Horseshoe.

The Big Thompson River tumbles through roughly 20 miles of narrow canyon to the base of the foothills west of Loveland. By late summer and fall, it is a relatively “tame” river, but the Big Thompson also has a reputation of being a killer. Spring and summer flash floods can occur with little or no notice. Short willows and aspens can be found along it’s banks in the fall. Fly fishermen come to the famous river to test their skills in the miles and miles of tricky pocket water. 

Bighorns show up in the fall for their rut in the Big Thompson Canyon. Occasionally, the sheep come down to the highway, cross and drink from the river before heading back to the safety of the rocks. 

Much like the bull Elk fighting for dominance, two equal sized rams can bash heads for hours. The distinctive crack of the collision echos down the canyon…it’s an amazing spectacle!

Loveland / Ft. Collins Area

Wow! This could be, and probably should be, a Featured Subject post all by itself!  I have found so many photo opportunities spread out over the foliage season. This photo was taken at the Devil’s Backbone as the cottonwoods turned prime.  I was hoping for an early snowfall to go with this scene, but the first snowfall occurred after the leaves had mostly fallen. 

I hear about elk, black bears, coyotes, foxes and even bighorns in Loveland, but I haven’t seen them yet. I’ve found a variety of waterfowl, herons, egrets, and pelicans in the areas waters, and after setting up a few feeders, I see quite a few different species of smaller birds. This Wood Duck was captured with the gold trees reflected in the calm water. 

A single tree can have a variety of colors ranging from green, lime, yellow, orange, red and maroon. 

This area has been farmed for well over a century. I’ve been traveling the back roads looking for barns and structures, and when I find one I like, I go back several times until I can catch the light and clouds putting on a dramatic show. It’s even better when the trees are changing colors.

Silos, windmills, and rusting vehicles and tractors make good subjects when surrounded by fall color.

This scene caught my eye as I drove by. I parked and walked back to it. 

Similar to the previous photo, this backlit scene was drenched in warm color.

Wildlife, like this Wood Duck, look great against the call colors.

Fall is also a time of harvest. I stopped at a pumpkin ranch just outside Longmont for this seasonal photo. 

Details and Experiments

I bought my first digital camera back in 2005. Not long afterwards, I started experimenting with long exposures and using both the zoom features and motion by swinging my lens across a tripod. The digital aspect of the camera lets me see what I was getting on the spot, vs having to wait and hope I got it. This “hyperspace” look is achieved by either zooming in, or zooming out during the exposure. Originally, I was working with the lights at the Teton County Fair, but later tried it on fireworks and Christmas lights.  After all these years, I still give it a try on other subjects.

These shots probably qualify as “close-ups”.  Currently, I don’t own a Sony E mount macro lens, but I hope to buy one someday for even more variety. While I am filling out my wish list, I’d love to own a couple of tilt-shift lenses!

I’ve always like finding subjects “in transition”...changing from one state to another. This capture shows the fall leaves with frozen droplets of water against a bokeh backdrop. 

In this photo, it’s apparent the trees and leaves are in transition, and the seasons are in transition from fall to winter. 

For this shot, I leveled my tripod, then locked down the panning knob. That left only the vertical axis available on my Gimball head. It takes a fair amount of experimantation to dial in the amount of motion necessary to show a little detail in this kind of abstract.

For this shot, I locked down both the horizontal panning knob and the vertical axis knob, then loosened the knob on the collar of my 200-600mm lens. That allows me to rotate or spin the camera during the exposure. No two shots are ever the same!

The morning sun was just out of frame in the upper left when I took this shot. The backlit leaves filtered the light with a distinct orange hue that shifted the colors on the tree trunks and branches. 

On a color wheel, green is the “direct complimentary” color to red. Likewise, purple is the direct complimentary color of yellow. This photo has both. 

All of the photos on this page were taken with a Sony A1 camera and either a Sony 200-600mm lens or a Tamron 35-150mm lens. I have other lenses, but those two are sharp and cover most of the ranges I shoot most. Actually, I own two Sony A1 bodies and have one the two lenses on each body, ready to shot at any time without having to switch lenses. 

I had originally planned on posting the Fall in the Rockies page much sooner, but it became apparent that the fall foliage season in this area lasts a lot longer than I was used to in Jackson Hole. Lower elevations, like Loveland, still have colorful trees well into November. Ft. Collins and Loveland are heavily wooded with a wide variety of deciduous trees. That creates a long lasting patchwork of eye popping color in the fall.  Sadly, it’s about over for this year. I am now looking forward to snow and the upcoming winter season.