This year I made a short 3 day trip to the San Juan Mountains for fall colors. I planned an itinerary of 6 specific shots including 2 hikes to new areas that I’d never been. However, unpredicted weather shuffled things up a bit and made me to shift gears to different areas and shots. In the end, I didn’t get any of the photos that I set out for, but many unexpected and equally satisfying ones instead.
You can order these photos here.
Clouds scuttled my sunrise shots, but delivered welcome snow. They pushed me to find different compositions and created stunning conditions by mid-morning.
When I rolled into Silverton it was raining and splendidly gloomy. Though I didn’t plan on the train being there, it made the perfect subject to capitalize on the dramatic clouds. The steam coming from the pressure valve is the defining characteristic of the engine in this photo. However, by the time I composed the shot, the steam stopped. Not knowing exactly how steam locomotives work, I wasn’t sure if I missed my chance. But while the locomotive sits idle, the firebox continues to boil water and pressure still builds, releasing steam every few minutes.
The beauty of traversing this pass through the clouds and snow was rejuvenating.
As the rain poured while I slept in my truck, I knew that at elevation it was painting the peaks white. Though I was standing at this spot by 0630, the light didn’t shine until late morning.
You need a good cloudscape for a good landscape. Many excursions are diminished by lack of clouds, but not this one. Spectacular clouds enabled capturing great shots throughout the day. I set up at this spot from late afternoon until dusk to capture the evolution of light on this mountain range.
s
This is Ouray. In Colorado we pronounce it “Yuh-Ray”, not Ooh-Ray.
The essential elements to create exemplary fall colors photos are snow, clouds, sunlight and vivid colors. However, given that fall colors only last for about a week in the Colorado Rockies, one or more element is usually missing during the short window. The snow may not come early enough, or it may come on the wings of strong wind that blows all the leaves down. Or there may be dramatic clouds, but too many of them that block the sun. Worst of all are empty blue skies. The four elements only congeal every few years, and this was definitely one of them.
