Climate change around the world is becoming a big factor as it relates to nature photography. One effect in particular is the timing of the peak for autumn colors. What used to be fairly predictable is no longer the case. With this in mind I headed out this past September for a three week road trip through the state of Colorado, hoping to capture some images of the mountain landscapes blanketed in brilliant fall color.

My first stop was at Rocky Mountain National Park, which is located in the eastern half of the state. To my disappointment the trees and shrubs were exhibiting very little of the seasonal color change. It was still early in the month, and I was holding out hope that I would be more successful as the days went by and I headed out to the western part of the state

Fast forward to the last week of the month of September. I was in the process of driving along the Million Dollar Highway from Ouray in the north to Durango in the south. This could quite possibly be the most spectacular stretch of road in the continental U.S. To my delight autumn was now in full peak mode and filling the mountains with the vivid colors of yellow, orange and red. For this image I decided to go full telephoto and focus my vision on a small section of the land, isolating a group of aspen trees high on the side of a mountain exhibiting a deep orange/red hue. There were so many more landscapes full of the colors of the season along my drive that day, and I headed home quite satisfied with my autumn photography adventure.