The Soft Light of Spring

The Soft Light of SpringNew, fresh, aspen leaves catch soft light in a Colorado forest near Crested Butte.

We haven't had much of a winter in Colorado this year. It's been unseasonably warm with less than half our normal snowfall. This has some of us hoping for an early, wetter spring.

Sometimes spring arrives screaming in blazing sunlight, blue skies, and green grass and leaves, but I prefer the days when spring whispers in softer, quieter hues. When fresh aspen leaves sprout, they are a delicious lime green and almost transparent. These margarita-colored youngsters glow with any available light, even in deep shade. They only look like this for a few days, so I have to work quickly when the light calls me. I have several favorite groves that sprout at different times, so I may get a couple of weeks with soft, spring light before the leaves become dark green and opaque. 

"The Soft Light of Spring" was found in a grove very near my condo in Crested Butte, Colorado. This grove overlooks the East River Valley along the drive to the former mining town of Gothic. The Rocky Mountain Biological Lab now occupies the town of Gothic. To capture the feeling of soft light that impressed me with this scene, I used the lens that lives on my Nikon D800. The Nikon 24-120mm f4 lens has the greatest range, is tack-sharp, and is easy to hold, even though I always use a tripod for my landscape photos. The focal length was 105mm, adding a little compression to the depth of the forest. My aperture was f8, which narrowed the depth of focus a little. This combination creates a subtle effect of softness since the trees and leaves become less in focus as your eyes travel through the image. The illumination came from bright, overcast skies, my favorite light for intimate forest and flower photos. 

Processing the RAW file is a bit tricky. I ended up reducing contrast and increasing the exposure a tad to present the scene as I experienced it. A slight vignette is used to keep the viewer's eyes in the scene. I hope "The Soft Light of Spring" evokes the same feeling I had when you see it. 

With forecasted temperatures in the mid-60s this week, spring, sadly, may not be a long wait!