Fall Takes Flight

Fall Takes FlightWhile waiting for some clouds to move along, a slight breeze sent a million aspen leaves airborn over the East River Valley near Crested Butte, Colorado. Pure magic!

A few weeks ago, I drove out toward Gothic, Colorado, in search of fall colors and especially hoping for a new, colorful panorama of Whiterock Mountain overlooking the East River valley. The sky was filled with fast-moving clouds and spotty sunshine, adding to the challenge of the mission.

After finding a suitable pull-out, I prepared my camera, lens, and tripod for the panoramic image I had in my mind. Once I got set up, all I had to do was wait for the spots of sunshine to illuminate the colorful aspen forest and the peak of the mountain. This could take some time! 

A few minutes after I got set up, another car pulled up behind mine, and a couple got out and started walking toward me. The man looked toward his partner and said, "I think I know this guy". As it turned out, he had taken a photo tour I had led years earlier with the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival. We talked shop, all the time waiting and watching the clouds and sunlight move across the scene. After about 45 minutes, a slight breeze blew down the valley and lifted about a million golden aspen leaves into the air around us. All three of us snapped photos as the leaves gently sailed down the valley. Once the scene passed, one of them said, "Did that really happen"? We all got to capture a magical moment. Even though it was not what we stopped for or were hoping for, it was magical nonetheless.

"Fall Takes Flight" is my version of the magic. If the clouds had not shaded most of the scene, the yellow aspen leaves would not have been visible. What we were hoping for was exactly the opposite of what was needed for magic to happen. These ironic moments happen frequently while chasing nature and landscape images. What we go out hoping for is seldom what we come home with. Maybe that's why I keep doing this!