Colorado Autumn Color hillside with aspen and spruce trees, Pike-San Isabel NF, CO, USA

Autumn hillside with aspen and spruce trees, Pike-San Isabel NF, CO, USA

Claudia and I are in Colorado, chasing the fall color once again. By Colorado standards this is a below-average year for autumn color. Apparently a mid-May snowstorm damaged some of the just-sprouting aspen leaves, and those leaves are turning brown or dull yellow before falling off.

But many of the aspens seem to be undamaged. And it’s Colorado after all, where there are so many aspens that even in a “poor” year you can find plenty of colorful trees. And we’ve had some great weather, with rain, snow, fog, and lots of interesting clouds. The combination of weather and color has been really fun to photograph, and the constantly-changing conditions have kept me going from sunrise to sunset every day. Here are a few images showing some of the best moments so far, and I’m sure I’ll post more soon.

— Michael Frye

Colorado Autumn Color: Aspen and spruce trees, autumn, Pike-San Isabel NF, CO, USA

Aspen and spruce trees, autumn, Pike-San Isabel NF, CO, USA

Colorado Autumn Color: Aspens below Capital Peak, White River NF, CO, USA

Aspens below Capitol Peak, White River NF, CO, USA



Related Posts: Autumn Landscapes; More Colorado Aspens

Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author or principal photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, Yosemite Meditations for Women, Yosemite Meditations for Adventurers, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters. He has also written three eBooks: Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, Exposure for Outdoor Photography, and Landscapes in Lightroom: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide. Michael has written numerous magazine articles on the art and technique of photography, and his images have been published in over thirty countries around the world. Michael has lived either in or near Yosemite National Park since 1983, currently residing just outside the park in Mariposa, California.