This photo was not planned; it was just a spontaneous roadside stop along one of the many gravel roads in the Colorado countryside. These spontaneous stops are something that happens regularly for me in Colorado, but this one felt extra special.
I was leading a workshop and driving to another location, hoping to catch the sunset with our group. I saw this scene and slammed on the brakes. I jumped out of the car to see if everyone else in the other vehicles wanted to stop, too. Before I could even ask, everyone was piling out of the cars. After stopping to think about it, the reason this scene grabbed my attention was apparent, but it was still good to analyze it.
The light on the aspen trees and the fence grabbed my attention first. Then I saw Wilson’s peak in the distance and the beautiful clouds above the peak, and all in the same scene. The light was changing fast, so I didn’t want to waste time grabbing my tripod. I took a few test shots at f/11 with a wide or landscape orientation. However, I wanted a little more depth of field in the capture, so I ended up at f/13. I also didn’t like that with a wide shot; the fence looked very small in the frame.
Additionally, I wanted to use the fence as a leading line as foreground interest. So, I thought the vertical/portrait orientation worked out best for the final composition. After a few more photos, the light changed, and we headed out for the next location.
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