Untamed Images Blog

The jagged, rocky ridge known as "The Dyke", located in northwest Montrose County Colorado, is flanked by one of the world's largest aspen groves. In late September, 2016, the changing aspens created an explosion of color.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM at 90 mm, 1/60 sec at f/11, ISO 100

After talking about it for many years, Alison and I finally visited Colorado this autumn to see the aspens show off their fall foliage. We have made many trips to California’s Eastern Sierra in the fall, and while there are some beautiful aspens to be found there, nothing quite prepared us for the glory of Colorado at its colorful peak. We spent the better part of two weeks in Southwest Colorado searching for beautiful vistas and trying be in the right places when the trees were at their best.

We had tried to visit the spot where this picture was taken a week earlier but were deterred by an early-season snowstorm that made the road unsafe to drive. Luckily, the weather and the intervening week provided the perfect conditions for the trees to reach their peak. A few late-to-turn green aspens and some uncommon orange-red aspens added depth and structure to the blazing yellow hillside and had us standing in awe at this beautiful sight.

Don’t forget to click on the image above to view a larger (and higher-resolution) version of the photo.

The changing leaves of the black oak trees in Yosemite create a rich palette of yellows, golds, and greens which, along with contrasting dark trunks, present a host of stunning photo opportunities.

Canon 5D Mk II, 70-200mm f/2.8L at 123mm, 1/10 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400

One of my favorite images from autumn 2012, this picture captures the unsung beauty of Yosemite. It’s not always about waterfalls and granite monoliths. This photograph was captured in the early morning, before any direct sunlight had made its way into the Valley, from a vantage point within El Capitan Meadow.

Black oak trees bordering Cook's Meadow in Yosemite National Park exhibit their golden fall colors on a crisp November morning.

A large dose of credit goes to my wife, Alison, for inspiring me to capture this image. As I was following a cooperative bobcat around Cook’s Meadow with my long lens, Alison wandered among the nearby oak trees featuring beautiful golden leaves. She took a quick grab shot on her iPhone of a composition similar to that of the above image and I was very intrigued when she showed it to me. A few minutes later the bobcat disappeared into the undergrowth for a nap, so I swapped out my 500mm lens for a wide angle zoom and set about reconstructing the iPhone image as I remembered it. After waiting a while for the skies to clear of the seemingly ever-present contrails, I fine-tuned the positioning of the camera to obtain a starburst effect from the sun, and I was able to create an image that conveyed the feeling of standing within this dazzling grove.

Stay tuned for a blog post featuring the aforementioned bobcat in the near future.

The aspens in California's Eastern Sierra were late to put on their autumn colors in 2011, but when they finally did, the vistas were stunningly beautiful.

Alison and I slipped away on a short road trip after reading reports of some impressive displays of fall color in the the Eastern Sierra. We weren’t disappointed.

This shot was taken in the early evening on October 23rd and was one of the first photographs I took on this trip. As you can see, this aspen grove at Conway Summit (near the town of Lee Vining) radiated the full spectrum of leaf colors from green to yellow to orange to red. Just a few trees had lost their leaves at this point, which along with the few green trees, indicates that the display was precisely at (or perhaps a tiny bit past) its peak.

I’m actually grateful for the few bare trees in the photograph. I think they add an interest to the image and strengthen its composition. Why not leave a comment on the blog or email me and tell me what you think?