Autumn is far and away my favorite season for photography. The temperatures are cooler, the air is clearer and the crowds of summer are disappearing. As the season progresses the fall colors become more vibrant, eventually peaking and then fading away as winter approaches. As the colors peak at different times depending on the climatic zone you are in, it takes a little research to determine the optimal time to visit any one particular area.

In the fall of 2020 I was planning on spending some time in northwest Wyoming, both in Yellowstone NP and Grand Tetons NP. I had read that the colors would be peaking around the end of September and the beginning of October, so I timed my visit accordingly.

The Tetons are one of the most spectacular mountain ranges in the world. The majestic peaks rise up ever so sharply from the land below, the result of a huge tectonic shift in the earth’s surface from a time well in the past. I spent some time one afternoon photographing the range from an area called Schwabacher Landing, hoping to get some good reflections in the still water that can be found there. It wasn’t until I was leaving that area that I came across this scene full of cottonwood trees sporting their splendid fall foliage. The ceiling of clouds that formed late in the afternoon added a great highlight to a lovely autumn image of the Grand Tetons.