The golden treetops
I have a client at work (my day job) that resides in northern Arizona. Whenever they call to have me come up, I never curse the three hour drive…I relish it and enjoy the time I get to spend seeing this beautiful state. I usually leave around 4am and thus usually find myself at an interesting spot for a sunrise, or maybe a few places for night photography, and then a bazillion other things along the way.
Yesterday I made a trip up there and I was on the lookout for fall colors. I spotted a 10,000 foot mountain nearby and saw an entire hillside covered in golden Aspen…so I asked my client if there was a way to the top and she said YUP! So I headed down the dirt road to the top and explored a few trails that led to these amazingly tall, golden treetops.
I have never photographed fall colors before…so this is all new to me. I knew I wanted some vertical shots of tree tops and other things, so this is basically a few attempt at that. For those wondering, it’s a single exposure HDR. I actually tried doing 6 exposures, then 3…but too much movement killed it. Plus…the colors just didn’t look right. Tried the single…and bam, it came together.
Hope you enjoy a little taste of fall from Arizona!
Love the colors, vantage point, composition, love it all! I’m moving to Az!, oh, wait, I already am in paradise, sorry! But I sure will visit again some day ( I hope next year)
Aspens are so similar to the birch trees I grew up with in the Adirondacks of New York. One of my favorite scenes of fall — white bark, golden leaves… so lovely. Thanks for posting, Mike!
I love it! The colors are electric.