Thursday, September 10, 2015

Gearing Up for Fall Color Season

Why I Love Photography During Fall

One of the many waterfalls in Oregon's Silver Falls State Park
Autumn is knocking on the door, that summer is officially winding down.  This year, it cannot come soon enough. With the incredibly dry summer in the Pacific Northwest filled with record-breaking heat, drought and numerous destructive wildfires, I won't be sad to kiss the summer of 2015 goodbye.

The good news is that fall is my favorite season, something I look forward to all year. The cooler days are most welcome but its the fantastic foliage that I circle my calendar months in advance to.  There's just something about being among trees ablaze in yellows, greens, reds and oranges and how they paint already grand landscapes to even more spectacularness (is that a word?!)

This year will be a different one because of the extreme weather and my thinking at this point is the fall foliage season in the Pacific Northwest may be one big dud.  Leaves are already dropping and trees are turning color, and that started in August, almost two months before they should.  And that's not good as the trees look very stressed and some are downright suffering from the lack of moisture.

But that's okay as it give me more reason to travel to areas where the fall color will be spectacular. One such place I do plan to shoot fall again this year in the Rockies. Aspen are one of my favorite types of tree groups for fall color, as you'll see in these images below. While you may believe they only turn one color - yellow - the fact is they also turn red and orange as well.  

This link is a great video made by Oregon Public Broadcasting about these unique trees and well worth a watch, as it chronicles the wild Steens Mountain area in remote southeastern Oregon, one of the few places in that state with large groves of aspen.

Why Aspen Change Color, and Their Importance to the Forest


I'll keep you updated on my travels. For now, enjoy some of these images I made last year, in Colorado, Oregon and Washington. 

Old Barn in Washington County, Oregon

A gurgling creek with colored fall leaves in Oregon
A rainbow of colors outside of Crested Butte, Colorado

Golden aspen trees fill the scene near Gunnison, Colorado

The Historic Cedar Creek Grist Mill, in Washington state
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Till next time, enjoy the vista! 

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