My 2012 Colorado Fall Collection

What fantastic Fall color this season! I spent my time in the Elk Mountains instead of the rightfully famous northern San Juans where most photographers migrate to year after year. I have to admit, my lack of intimate knowledge of the San Juans keeps me in the Elks year after year because it’s the Elks that I know. I know the places, and the people; the Elks are home. I spent 6 years in the Roaring Fork area and still have family residing there so shooting there always feels right.

2012 Included the Prince Creek Road, Crystal River Gorge, Maroon Creek Valley, Capitol Creek Trailhead, Hay Park, Marble and rd 265 just west of McClure Pass.

Memorable moments include…

-Having no idea what I was going to shoot my first evening and deciding to take a drive up the Prince Creek Road. I picked a spot, I parked and hiked a mile up a slope covered in brilliant colors watched a fantastic sunset of Mount Sopris.

-After two years of planning, I finally hiked to the rarely visited Crystal River Falls. I borrowed my brother’s neoprene body suit, waterproof Pelican camera case, and wore my microspikes, all just to make it to the falls. I made it!

-My 10 mile rt hike to Hay Park to shoot Capitol Peak at sunset. I had no idea that the hike would be so darn beautiful! I will go back, next time to stay a night or two. At some point while packing or hiking, I accidentlly turned on my headlamp. I lost light for my hike out. Only twice in my life have I lost light for a hike out, and both times Ive had a full moon. I finally made it back to the car at 10:00pm and set up a tent off Prince Creek rd. I woke up to an incredibly refreshing morning among colorful scrub oak. BTW, there's fantastic free car camping along that road...

-Forrest Road 265. Enough said. Try pulling off the road and taking a nap among giant aspen forests to kill time for sunset. You WILL sleep well considering you won’t have any cars driving by.

-A crazy night at Capitol Creek Trailhead, where I fought off cows from my campsite all night. I literally woke up to a cow sniffing my head from outside my tent!

I hope you enjoy my images.

As always, comments and critique welcome.

http://www.kaephotography.com/gallery/fall/

Great set of images Kane! You had quite a productive fall. My favorites were the Fall Sherbet Pano with all the great colors, Hidden World with that great splash of red and the diagonal lines through the image, and The Roar.

Kane, you have some beautiful photos in that gallery. Thank you for sharing. I really liked your Capitol Peak photos, I've never been out to that area (yet) and I love seeing those scenes.

Kane,
Always enjoy seeing where you go and the results....looks like a very productive fall for you...ditto on the Capitol Peak image.
Joe Rogers

Just a great collection, Kane! Your intimacy with this area shows through very well in the comps use of lighting. There is not a weak image in the collection with many that are top level work. I thoroughly enjoyed the details of your trip, and it's wonderful that you finally realized a vision of shooting those falls. The two images of Crystal Falls are my favorites of the group, but others are close behind. Very well done, my friend!

Great set, Kane! Along with the big pano vistas, one of my favorites is the "What a Morning" tent shot which really conveys that glorious autumn mood!

There are times when there is simply nothing to critique. This is one of those times. Your work here is first rate, Kane. The light, the compositions and the 'development' of all of these is nearly flawless. You put your heart and soul into this collection and it shows. All I can do is to pick my favorites like everyone else. Those would be 'Capitol Country II', 'Quilted Colors', 'Yellow & Blue' (a lovely layered palette!), 'Vertically Obsessed'. 'Alone' (w/the meandering foliage in the foreground!), 'Journey' (w/another fine foreground) and 'Warming Up'. 'What A Morning' really stands out for the statement that it makes.
Congratulations for achieving your goal of getting to those falls. Did you know what you would see or was it a spot on the map that challenged you?

Jack, What a Morning speaks to that one moment, that I'll never forget. I remember shooting sunrise just down the trail, thinking the light was done for the day and made my way back to the tent. I knew I didn't get a good shot of Capitol that morning, just not enough clouds! Back at the tent, I started up my morning coffee, sat down, soaked in the views and realized where I was, and how lucky I am to have the opportunity to see these places. It was finally time for the self portrait to capture the feel! I had a lot of fun boiling my water next to my seat, trying my best to get the steam of the boiling water to drift upward through the image.....I did the...start timer....run to seat...look outward like I'm just chillin....I suppose that's what I was doing right?

John, thanks for such nice words. Is your last question regarding Crystal River Falls? If so, Ive known about the falls for about a decade. My brother showed me the falls way back before I started shooting a camera. The short hike into the falls is sudden and a little bit nerve-racking. Ive been there four times and each time I go into the hike thinking "no problem" however I always end up respecting the eye opening terrian. Once down in the gorge, the hike to the falls is short but one must have a wet suit. The gorge walls are sheer from high straight down to either water or deadfall. Wading deep water is a must. Obviously the deep ravine doesn't see the sun much so its cold in there, no doubt. Let alone the water is bone chilling. Micro spikes helped alot. Heres an image from the falls looking downstream. Low water year too...

Oh my, what a great fall collection. There are certainly no negative comments I could offer on any of these images. For each one, I feel like I am standing right there in that spot. To me, that is what great images do for the viewer. I also really appreicate the fact you take more than just grand landscape views. All of the images were you focus in are quite artistic and provide stunning scenes. Thus, if I had to pick, I would say Vertically Challenged is my favorite in that category. That image completely captures the essence of fall for me.
I also appreciate the narrative you provided to go along with your images. Really provides the experience behind the images. I certainly can relate to the Sopris Trailhead experience. I swear that group of bovines enjoys messin' with campers at that site. Thus, I slept in my vehicle last year. Being that road was a challenge last year, I did forgo Sopris this year. Did the Forest Service conduct any road maintenance this year?
One last comment on your images. Your post processing work is excellent. White balance is spot on for every image.