These are my favorite aspens in southwestern Colorado, simply because they are the most unique naturally formed stand of aspens, I have seen in 30 years of exploring Colorado. Their curved trunks indicate a ground shifting that occurred in the early stages of growth that bent the trucks of the trees, or perhaps one or more snow slides that bent the trees in their early growth years. Then, they continued their natural vertical growth toward the sun. Whatever the reason, their whimsical shapes, combined with the aspen gold of the Colorado fall season, make them irresistible to photograph and a truly unique subject.

Finding them still presents a bit of a challenge since they are tucked into a much larger grove of aspen trees and require a bit of exploring to reach these particular trees.

On this day, the sun constantly moved in and out of the clouds, dramatically shifting the scene from bright and contrasty to soft and diffused within minutes. I was able to take my time exploring different compositions, waiting for those few moments for the sun to be obscured by clouds, which offered lovely, diffused light. I photographed a variety of compositions, using a 70-200mm lens to compress the scene, a wide-angle 16-35mm to get up close and overemphasize the dramatic shapes, and finally, the 24-70mm for this more balanced composition.

This was my first visit to the dancing aspens, and it certainly won't be the last. I already have envisioned a winter black-and-white series and a summer trip to photograph under a canopy of green aspen leaves.