Posted by Doug Koepsel on October 16, 2011 at 12:55 PM
An evening and morning was spent on the peaks north of Flagstaff. USFS had reported that the colors were best on the west side, but is seemed that it was still a third green and any colors were primarily mustard yellow. I had scouted this shot during the summer from atop Fern Mountain overlooking the Nature Conservancy preserve and was waiting for the leaf change and some light clouds.
D90, Nikon 16-35 @ 30mm f/8, ISO 200
Posted by Doug Koepsel on October 16, 2011 at 12:58 PM
#2 Before sunset, looking to the west showed some backlit aspens and pines. I like the section where the tall aspen trunks were visible in the layers.
NIkon 70-300 @ 195mm f/8
Posted by Doug Koepsel on October 16, 2011 at 1:05 PM
#3 The summer of 2010 brought the Schultz fire to the east side of the peaks. As a result, the road up to Lockett Meadow had been closed, until just this past Thursday. That opening provided a much shorter hike for sunrise Saturday into the Inner Basin, which I feel is the closest that Arizona has in appearance to the San Juan mountains. The inner basin is the blown out part of the volcano, similar to Mt St Helens. This was the only small patch of aspens that had any color.
Nikon 16-35 @ 35mm f/8
Nice, Doug! That first one has a beautiful comp and great conditions. And good eye for #2; I like the juxtaposition of the vertical trunks with the horizontal bands of color.
Posted by Doug Koepsel on October 16, 2011 at 1:11 PM
#4 Back at Lockett Meadow at mid-morning, a small tank provides a nice reflection looking southwest towards the Inner Basin. The Schultz fire burned to the northeast corner of Lockett Meadow and the ridge to the left of the photo, but fortunately not down into the meadow and inner basin.
Thanks for looking and providing any feedback and suggestions.
Posted by John Mumaw on October 16, 2011 at 11:09 PM
I can't understand why these have not received more comments yet.
The only one that does not work well for me is #3, and that's just because the tree colors are so dull.
The other three are excellent compositions, especially #'s 1 & 4. Love the reflection in #4 and the light, strong diagonals and square format in #1. All they need is a bump in saturation in the Yellows (#4) and both saturation and lightness in the Yellows (#1) to help make those trees pop. . Check it out.
Posted by Don Grall on October 17, 2011 at 12:55 AM
Really like #1 with the pink clouds to add visual interest. Wasn't aware that Flagstaff had many aspen, but then I've only been there in the spring and summer months, never fall.
I think I like the softer light of the first and second but all nice images of this area Doug. I also like the small amount of snow you encountered. Nice work.
Posted by Doug Koepsel on October 17, 2011 at 11:38 AM
John, I think Mother Nature forgot to adjust the yellows and reds this fall, as things are looking rather pukey for aspens around Flag. I tried darkening the complimentary blue in levels in PSE9, but did not like the result on bringing out the yellows. The oaks and maples in Oak Creek will hopefully be real colorful in a few weeks.
Don, The SF Peaks has some good aspen groves, but drought and blight is taking a toll. The rest of the forest below the peaks around Flagstaff is mainly ponderosa pine.
Dean, It was nice to get a little snow on the mountain when the storm came through over a week ago, and glad some is still visible on the north slopes. Thanks for the comments.
oops, i see some light horizon haloing in #1 to fix
Posted by Lynn Scott on October 17, 2011 at 1:08 PM
Nice set of images.#1 is my favorite.
Posted by Guy Schmickle on October 18, 2011 at 9:55 AM
Really like that first one, Doug. I kinda wished I would've known about Lockett Road opening, cuz I actually backpacked up there that Wednesday night to get some shots. I was surprised when I got back to my car on Thurs to see it opened. Doh! I guess I got a little exercise anyway. I agree with you in that the previous week's storm and cold really did a number on the aspens in the area. Bummer.
Posted by Guy Schmickle on October 18, 2011 at 10:05 PM
By the way Doug (and anyone else who cares), I hiked up West Fork today and the maples are already going off. Definitely worth visiting as the reds are amazing.
Posted by Doug Koepsel on October 18, 2011 at 10:18 PM
Discussion
13 repliesD90, Nikon 16-35 @ 30mm f/8, ISO 200
NIkon 70-300 @ 195mm f/8
Nikon 16-35 @ 35mm f/8
Thanks for looking and providing any feedback and suggestions.
The only one that does not work well for me is #3, and that's just because the tree colors are so dull.
The other three are excellent compositions, especially #'s 1 & 4. Love the reflection in #4 and the light, strong diagonals and square format in #1. All they need is a bump in saturation in the Yellows (#4) and both saturation and lightness in the Yellows (#1) to help make those trees pop. . Check it out.
Don, The SF Peaks has some good aspen groves, but drought and blight is taking a toll. The rest of the forest below the peaks around Flagstaff is mainly ponderosa pine.
Dean, It was nice to get a little snow on the mountain when the storm came through over a week ago, and glad some is still visible on the north slopes. Thanks for the comments.
oops, i see some light horizon haloing in #1 to fix