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Tag Archives: trees
2011 Top 10 #5 – Autumn Rainbow
Fall of 2011 was simply amazing – color everywhere and extending for over six weeks. The one thing that was missing in our own Wasatch Mountains, though, were reds. So it was a quick car stopper when we ventured up the Mirror Lake Highway towards the High Uintahs and found this amazing patch of red, green and yellow.
This is a longer telephoto look at a grove of trees not far from Soapstone Basin. It was photographed with a Nikon D700 fitted with a Nikkor 70-300 lens on a Manfrotto tripod. single shot, no HDR.
Of all the many dozens of selects I chose from this past fall, this one has always stood out in my mind for the vividness and diversity of the color.
It was, literally, an Autumn Rainbow!
Aspen Grove in Autumn
The evening fall color drive started poorly. After four straight nights of powerful evening sunlight, the clouds moved in an hour before sunset wiping out all direct light. But instead of heading home, I sought out some new subjects – and was amazed at what you can do without direct light.
While the white birch of the aspens could have benefited from some rays of light, the surrounding foliage was alive with color.
This stand of aspens was on a scenic backway between Midway, Utah and Guardsman Pass, high above Park City. The route is nice as it includes massive growth of oak (think red) at the mid elevations before you hit the aspens (think yellow) a bit higher.
This HDR captured the brilliant colors of the forest literally coming alive in the diffused evening light.
Camera: Nikon D700
Lens Nikkor 24-120 (at 24mm)
Yellow Aspens
It’s fall color season in Utah – one of the most amazing I can ever remember. Everyone has their theory on what causes color or when it appears. We’re definitely late this year, probably a week or two. Our first bursts came a week ago. Now, it’s just blazing!
My “go-to” spot for short evenings after work is Empire Pass and Guardsman Pass above Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort. The drive up Empire last night was unimpressive – nothing really on fire yet. But the top of Guardsman was impressive.
Tonight, though, just 24 hours later, it was almost a different scene. The entire roadway up Empire was ablaze. And Guardsman Pass was going off like never before!
It’s hard to really capture the detail in leaves with fall color, especially the backlit shots. And with evening winds, HDR is virtually impossible.
Tonight I focused on faster shutter speeds and larger lens openings. Last night’s shots were all a bit soft with the wind. The best shots are backlit, including this one shooting directly into the sun – which was shaded by the trees. Metering was really pretty straightforward, just measuring off one of the highlights and punching in another half top to full stop to compensate.
Watch for more in coming days.
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