…or The Magic of Light and …
This week, we completed another photo workshop, this one on the back side of Aspen in Crested Butte, Colorado. The colors this year were amazing. Normally, Quaking Aspen are yellow in the fall with occasional stands of red; this year, they were yellow ones, of course, but a huge number in coats of blazing orange and red. We have come here for a number of years, and we have never seen such an extraordinary display. Even the locals agreed that this was a very unusual year.
That said, even in normal years, the Aspen are something to behold, cascading down mountainsides, contrasting with the conifers.
Our alumni know we are always talking about the light. Without light, there is nothing.
One morning, storm clouds rolled in while the low, early light cut across one of the crested buttes in the area. It was eerie and magnificent, surrounded as it was by a colony of Aspen, and Arnie caught the magic.
Earlier, we had stopped at one of my favorite overlooks, but I always try to render it in a different way. The river meanders back and forth. This year, a stand of Aspen was dressed in red and framed one bit of the meandering river. It caught my eye.
Sometimes, light is gentle and pastel, or what artists have long called high key. There was a stand of Aspens that were beginning to fade, and Arnie captured that soft color. 
Early one morning, the sun rose casting a warm streak of light across the river valley. Morning mists wafted in and out, and I was lucky that they did what I wanted before the light got too strong. You’ll recognize that same meandering river below.
So, look for the light the next time you go out photographing.
For more information on our workshops, go to Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures.
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