Tag: Aspens

Colorado Fall – Sep 2026 – Part 5

This is a continuation of fall photogrphy in Colorado’s Rio Grande National Forest in September 2026.

Early Morning Mist
Emerging

‘Emerging’ has a double meaning for this photo. The trees in the foreground are just beginging to show fall colors emerging from the green and those trees in the background are emerging from the early morning mist.

Those Troublesome Black Cows

The campground I stayed in is free range country for cattle and for some reason these black cows liked to bump into and rub against my vehicle, which was startling in the dark of night, as I lay sleeping in that vehicle.

Gold and Dark
Mountain Stream

I can’t resist photographing these little mountain streams with their miniature waterfalls and cascades. There is also a big waterfall, that I discovered a few years ago, upstream from this location. I thought with the recent rains that there might be a good flow over those falls and wanted to go there; but it is a really steep climb, which is difficult enough when the ground is dry, but much more trecherous when wet. So even though I began that climb, I soon realized that maybe it was not worth the effort and risk, so I moved on down the road.

Meandering

A pretty valley with a river meandering through it, as I meandered along a forest road, stopping occassionally to photograph such scenes.

Marching Downhill in Ranks

These trees seem organized in size and color by regimented ranks along a mountainside.

Forest Rock

This big rock in an Alpen grove gave me a new idea for a photographic theme: Forest Rocks with Fallen Fall Leaves.

Forest Rock and Fall Leaves

And the lichen on the rocks adds more interest.

Forest Rock and Fall Leaves 2

There will be more photos in this theme in upcoming blogs.

Thanks for following,

Ken

Colorado Fall – Sep 2026 – Part 4

More fall photography in the Rio Grande National Forest of Southern Colorado.

Visitors’ Log

While there is not an official sign in place for visitors to a National Forest, people have a way of creating their own on the trunks of trees. It is common to find many such as that in this photo along side forest roadways.

Monochrome Aspen Trunks

I think Aspens may be the most photogenic of all forest trees. Even their bare trunks are attractive.

Monochrome Forest

And even monochrome images in a colorful Aspen forest can be appealing.

Mountains in the Mist

I parked a little below Stunner Pass, walked back up the roadway to shoot a few scenic views from the roadway.

Aspens on a Rocky Mountainside

This talus slope is no obstacle for Aspens.

Tall Trees and Misty Mountains
Fall Aspens
Colorado Fall Layers
The Junction

‘The Junction’ refers to the intersecting roads at the bottom of this photo, but I suppose that description can be extended to the mountains in the background, too.

More Colorado fall photos to come,

Ken

Colorado Fall – Sep 2026 – Part 3

This is a continuation of fall photography in Rio Grande National Forest of Southern Colorado in September 2926.

Sliding into Fall

The forest road was mostly ok, even though wet, muddy and bumpy, just a few slippery places to be cautious on.

Kinky Tree

The unusual always commands more attention than does normal.

Enticement

I’m always curious about what is just around the bend.

Community Members

Aspen trees are connected by their root system, making a batch of such trees members of the same family or community.

Dripping

An advantage of walking along a forest roadway in the rain is getting photos like these, while passerbys stop to make sure you are ok, because nobody in their right mind walks around in the rain with a camera.

Dripping 2
Dripping 3
Dripping 4
Dripping 5

Stay tuned for more fall photography,

Ken

 

Colorado Fall – Sep 2026 – Part 2

This is a continuation of fall photography in the Rio Grande National Forest of southern Colorado in September 2026.

Rainy Colorado Fall

I made a number of images at this location, while walking around in the drizzling rain, along Forest Service Road 250, which follows the Conejos River for a long way in Rio Grande National Forest.

Valley, River, Mountainside, Mist

This was not the kind of weather I wanted, but I knew before I began this trip that there were significant chances of rain for each day here.

Misty Forest
Mountain Stream 1

With the recent and continuing rains, the local streams were flowing again after a long dry spell and there is something irresistible about a mountain stream in every season.

Mountain Stream 2
Mountain Stream 3
Mountain Stream 4
Sky Water to River Water
Down by the River
Down by the River 2
Down by the River 3

Ok, time to move on down the road,

Ken

Colorado Fall – Sep 2026 – Part 1

It had been years since I visited Colorado in the fall. Not because I didn’t want to be there in the fall, but because the timing never worked out. This year I had a narrow window of opportunity to visit Colorado and I took advantage of it.

I knew in advance that this year might not be a great year for fall color in Colorado, due to a wide spread drought; but I knew that if I passed up this opportunity, I might not get another for years. So I went.

On the second day of travel, as I neared my destination in Southern Colorado, it began to rain. Mostly, light, intermittent showers, but sometimes heavy downpours. It rained and was overcast most of the time I was there with only the last couple of days partly sunny with occasional light rain.

Ominous Clouds

I’ve driven past these peaks numerous times in my trips to and from this part of Colorado. Today those heavy clouds above the peaks inspired me to stop and shoot this image.

I arrived at the south end of Forest Service Road 250 in the late afternoon and I stopped a few time along the road to shoot a few images, while looking for a place to overnight in my vehicle.

A Change is Just Down the Road
Fall Color Layers
Autumn Quilt
Colorful Lichen

This time of the year is not only leaf peeping season in Colorado, but hunting season as well. So there were many hunters in the Rio Grande National Forest, taking up many of the open campsites. I was also surprised to see that a number of forest campgrounds that were closed the last time I was in this area were still closed. I don’t know why, but I suspect budget cuts by the current Washington regime is responsible.

And the rains made some dispersed camping areas difficult or impossible to use. Fortunately, I found a suitable place to stay overnight, although I did walk into the area first to make sure I could navigate the muddy dirt roads and puddles.

First Night’s Campsite

This is an iPhone photo with the wide angle lense distortion making it look like those evergreens are leaning in to protect my vehicle from the inclement weather.

View from Campsite
Bent Aspens

I found it interesting that this group of small aspens near my campsite are all bent in the same manner. Perhaps these were deformed when very small by a snow load and maintained that shape as they have grown.

More Colorado fall photos to come. Thanks for following,

Ken

 

 

 

Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, September 26, 2020 PM, Part 3

By the time this final post, covering my fall visit to the Rio Grande National Forest, is published it will be late spring of 2021.  It would have been good to have been able to publish all of the fall photographs in the fall, but it takes time to review and edit so many photographs and there are always other trips, events and personal matters that delay getting posts prepared.

Maybe I should take fewer photographs?  But photography of natural places is my hobby and I get to do too little of it as is, so I will continue to make as many photos like these as often as I can get away to do so.

Fall Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 3200.
Red and Green Leaf on Log. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 3200.

 

Dark Red. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 3200.
Fall Forest Roadway. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/500s, f/11, ISO 3200.
Leaf on Log. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 3200.
Leaves and Moss on Stump. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 3200.
Leaves and Stump. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/80s, f/11, ISO 3200.
Trapped. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 6400.

I’ll finish with a final photograph that I think is appropriate for wrapping up this trip.

Heart Tree. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/100s, f/11, ISO 6400.

The heart shaped scar on this tree appears to be natural and not one of the many carved ones that I encountered.

As soon as I publish this, I will begin preparations for another trip to begin in a few days.  I have much to do and still have to select a primary destination.  Maybe by next year, I will even be posting photos from that trip.  (I still have other events in the queue to work through before getting to anything new)!

Thanks for following, stay well and safe,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, September 26, 2020 PM, Part 2

Again, mostly photographs and few words.

Shelter. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/100s, f/11, ISO 3200.
Trunk Trio. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 52mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 3200.
Hint of Fall, B&W with selective colorization. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 400.
Sanctuary. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 2000.
Forest Road and Barren Aspens, B&W with selective colorization. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 52mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 2000.
Advanced Fall, B&W with selective colorization. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/160s, f/11, ISO 2000.
Advanced Fall. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/160s, f/11, ISO 2000.
Hanging On, B&W with selective colorization. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 2000.
Stump with moss and leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 32mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 3200.

Just one comment to wrap up this post.  Viewers will note that I’ve include color versions of a few images that were then converted to black and white with selective colorization to add emphasis.

Stay tuned for the wrap up for my September 2020 Rio Grande National Forest visit.

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, September 26, 2020 PM, Part 1

For our late day shoot, we decided to drive back into a higher elevation portion of the forest. I’ll refrain from using too many words to wrap up the final shoot of my last day here, so these last several posts will consist of mostly photographs.

Aspen Fall.  Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 2500.
Aspen Leaf and Evergreen. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 1600.
Leaf and Bark. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/80s, f/11, ISO 320.
Fall Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 1600.
Leaf Hoard. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 2000.
Leaf and Bough. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 2000.
Golden Forest Floor. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 26mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 2000.
Gnarly. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 32mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 2000.
Soft Landing. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/160s, f/11, ISO 3200.

To be continued,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, September 26, 2020, Mid-Day, Part 2

I continued to shoot, under the overcast sky, in an upper elevation Aspen forest, where the ground was covered with fall leaves and an abundance of old logs and stumps of fallen trees.

Mossy Logs and Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 45mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 800.
Glory Fades. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 1000.
Death in the Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 28mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 1000.

The stump above reminds me of the skeleton skull of a longhorn steer that one might find in a desert setting.

Tree Stump and Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 34mm, 1/400s, f/11, ISO 1250.
Fading Away. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 1250.
Old Stump and Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 45mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 1250.
Colorful Forest Floor. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/640s, f/11, ISO 1250.

I found a batch of young evergreens among the large Aspens decorated by fallen Aspen leaves.

Evergreens and Aspens. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 58mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 1250.
Small Evergreen with Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 1250.

This wraps up the mid-day exploration and shoot and I want to remind viewers that the images look much better on the website or on Flickr (if posted there) and on a large screen, rather than in an e-mail or small mobil device screen.

Thanks for following and stay tuned for the final late day shoot,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, September 26, 2020, Mid-Day, Part 1

After our morning shoot, my son wanted to explore some of the other Forest Service Roads nearby, so we drove along several of those and into higher elevations, where most of the trees had already lost most of their leaves.

It was an overcast day and the dispersed light was good for photographing in the forest.

Aspen Forest, Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 500.

With the trees mostly bare, the forest floor was covered in fallen leaves.

A vertical shot with a wide angle, standing to the side of a batch of Aspens, made those trees appear at an angle, rather than vertical.

Aspen Forest, Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/160s, f/11, ISO 500.

I found many stumps of old fallen trees with the roots sticking out at various angles that made interesting subjects.

Gnarly Stump and Fall Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 45mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 500.
Old Leaf Catcher. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 36mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 500.

And old logs covered with fallen Aspen leaves.

Fall. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 800.
Stump, Log, Limb, Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 35mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 800.
Death and Renewal. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 800.
The Cradle. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 48mm, 1/160s, f/11, ISO 800.
Weathered Stump and Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 38mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 800.
Mossy Stump and Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 28mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 800.

To be continued,

Ken