Caught Between the Seasons

Winter has arrived in the high country of Utah. Fortunately for photographers, autumn was still very much in progress when the snow started to fly. The contrast between the mid-winter wonderland and vestiges of fall color made for some great photo opportunities over the past few weeks:

Vibrant red and gold aspen leaves after a fresh snowfall, Webster Flat, Utah.

Young aspens on a foggy, snowy fall day, Webster Flat, Utah.

Webster Flat, Utah

Webster Flat, Utah

Colorful aspens among snow-covered firs on the south slopes of the Markagunt Plateau, looking south toward Kolob Terrace and Zion National Park.

Two golden aspens surrounded by snowy conifers, Cedar Canyon, Utah.

Markagunt Plateau, Utah

Markagunt Plateau, Utah
Summer Fades, Winter Enters

While the snow may be falling and the vegetation dying, I am still alive and well here in Northern Colorado. This past spring, I somewhat rapidly went from working zero hours per week to working 50-70 hours per week which, as they say, “crimped my style” when it comes to photography.
We’ve had a glorious month of unseasonably warm fall weather here in Colorado and I was fortunate to get the chance to take several trips into the high country over the past few weeks to photograph fall colors. The presence of a leaf blight on many aspens in Northern Colorado (due to a fungus that took hole during our spring & early summer deluge) led to dire speculation that this season’s leaf show would be a letdown. Indeed, I did come across occasional unsightly stands of aspen with leaves that looked as though they been crisped by a torch. But many other locations appeared completely unaffected and lived up to the annual hype. Enjoy the photos!
Note: 2016 photography calendars will be available soon! Details to come…

Aspens along the lower Roaring River, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

A bright palette of red, yellow, and green aspens in Wild Basin, Rocky Mountain National Park. Nature’s stoplight! Just not quite in the correct order…

Pennock Pass, Colorado

Pennock Pass, Colorado

Fallen leaves litter a trail in Wild Basin, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Aspens aren’t the only plant that change color in the fall! Poison ivy (Toxicodendron rydbergii) can often have colors to match.
Fall in Walla^2
The wheat fields are bare, the homework is piling up, and the freshmen have stopped doing their daily Core reading. This combination of seemingly disparate events can mean only one thing: Fall has arrived in Walla Walla. This is not a bad thing in its own right, but sadly it means that the Sun will soon be disappearing behind the annual onslaught of clouds, mist, fog, and general dreariness that are the months of November-April here in eastern Washington. A few pictures from the past few weeks:

An unidentified bird dilligently guards his precious wheat

Sumac leaves on their deathbed

Horse Heaven Hills from Walla Walla