Aspen forest on Kebler Pass in Crested Butte, Colorado.
I have traveled many miles along forest roads with many different photographers here in Colorado over the years. One of my annual traditions is to spend a week or so in the Rocky Mountains photographing Autumn foliage. One of the best general locations I visit is the area around Crested Butte, CO
Today’s photo was made along Kebler Pass, just West of Crested Butte in late September of 2022.
When I first started doing serious landscape photography, I would sell my photographic prints at art festivals and shows. It was during one of those early sales events, it was pointed out to me by one of my potential customers that I didn’t have enough Autumn Aspen photos to choose from. They were right too. I had a few prints that featured some Aspens in Fall, but I never really focused on these trees as a primary subject. I took that comment to heart and in the years since, Aspen trees are always on my “shoot list” when I do an Autumn photography trip.
I’m in the planning stages for this year’s Autumn sojourn, and as fate has it, I won’t be working in the Crested Butte area this year. There are so many prime locations for Fall Foliage, I tend to rotate locations over time. This year, I’ll be returning to the San Juan Mountains in SW Colorado with a friend, and we will once again travel the forest roads in search of compelling photography locations.
The Colorado Rocky Mountains are filled with Aspen forests from North to South. They aren’t hard to find and the colors at peak are always an attractive composition. Today’s photo was made while driving along the forest road and spotting an opening at a pull off along the road. At first glance, I didn’t see much of interest, but as I studied the Aspen forest in front of me, I realized that it was a perfect scene to photograph. A typical Aspen forest shot would include the yellow caps of the Aspens, but I saw the ground cover in this particular stand of trees and felt that it was a perfect inversion of the typical. So, I purposely framed this photo to emphasize the yellow ground cover and not the tops of the trees.
I have developed a specific technique of post processing these Aspen forest photos which has served me well over the years. I never try to copy or replicate the style of other photographers though. I have my own way of doing it and when I see a scene that I know will work well with my post processing technique, I get a little giddy about it. This photo showcases my post processing technique to the upmost. There’s very little actual editing of the content, other than a little bit of cropping. I typically prefer a 5×7 aspect ratio, so cropped to that dimension. Originally photographed with a 45 Megapixel camera, I was able to retain most of the resolution and this photo makes a really nice large print.
