Snowy Mountainside Aspens and Sunlight
Colorado

20×20″ prints are $1,500
30×30″ prints are $3,000

Here’s the background information about this photograph which is repeated on the page for Early Winter Snowfall.

In 2000 Ruth and I found ourselves photographing in Colorado in the Grand Mesa area. Although it was the end of September the aspen trees were just beginning to change color. That night a cold front came in, the temperature fell into the low teens and it gently snowed all through the night.

When morning came the storm had passed and there was no wind. Everything was still and quiet. The snow had coated the trees in the most perfect way, frosting all of the tips and branches but leaving enough uncoated so that the shape and form of every tree is well defined.

Because it was a record early snowfall, the stage was set for some uniquely beautiful photographs that combined green and golden aspens with winter blue conifers, all with a light dusting of snow.

I used my 250mm Superachromat lens on my Hasselblad to make this exposure on Velvia 50 film, waiting for the dappled sunlight to create the best composition. I made three exposures, each with different light patterns but this one worked the best.

This image is brought to life by the contrast of the shade/sunlit areas and the color contrast between the icy blue conifers and the warm green, yellow and gold aspens. A special image from a special day.