Autumn Maple close and personal

Autumn. It’s finally here. The heat and humidity of summer have been replaced by cool, dry, crisp air.  It’s refreshing, invigorating and a tonic for the spirit.     Needless to say, this is my favorite time of year.     And then there are the trees.    Before they go dormant and loose their leaves, they perform a glorious, magnificent and colorful encore.      It is now time to get the camera and as we say around the house – PICTURE TIME!!!

While photographing these autumn trees, I try to do what I always do when photographing any landscape in that I attempt to interact with them – not just take a picture of them.      This means that I get under them, inside them and move around them until I can get the best shot possible.    Another element to consider is sunlight.     From my experience, the leaves need to be sunlit in order to get their brilliant colors.

The following pictures show my photographic approach.

In this image, I get right next to the trunk and shoot directly up the branches with a wide angle lens.     I believe that this gives the tree both a dramatic presentation and depth.

Autumn Maple from inside looking up.

Here, I shoot straight up through the tree into the sky.     The shape and color of the trees and branches against the clouds and blue sky give this image a  seasonal feeling where clouds seem to battle blue skies for supremacy.

Autumn sky through a golden maple window.

This image seems to be dull and uninteresting and here is my point.     I tend to like mountain lake photography as these scenes seem to imbue a sense of peace and serenity.    This is especially poignant during autumn and I believe that this afternoon image at one of Colorado’s mountain lakes underscores my point.

Denver’s Crown Hill Lake during a calm autumn day.

This photo was taken at Colorado’s Maroon Lake.    Here I attempt to show the golden aspen pattern against the maroon spires in the background.      Doing so took several shots where I moved about trying to get the scene just right.

Golden aspen beneath jagged maroon spires.

There are many good hiking trails near the east portal of the Colorado’s Moffat Tunnel.     While driving there this fall, I spotted a grove of golden aspen trees which required photographing.    In this picture, the grove was backlit and this very much enhanced the golden/yellow hues of the aspen’s leaves.     The position of the tree trunks and boulders make this an interesting photograph.      Here I attempt to show a scene where the entire scene is enveloped by golden sunlit aspen trees.

Inside a golden aspen tree stand.

Previously I stated that in order go capture the bright golden and yellow hues that bright sunlight was required.    In the image below, the lighting was not the best as it was mostly cloudy.    However, high dynamic range (HDR) techniques made capturing this scene possible in spite of the lighting limitations.

Golden aspen on Colorado Mountainside

Overall, I hope I explained some of my autumn photographic techniques and hope that you will visit my autumn gallery.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s final report on the crash, dated Wednesday, says it appears the propeller may not have been turning at the time of the Aug. 4, 2010, crash. The report says investigators found no other signs of pre-crash mechanical trouble.

The crash killed the 70-year-old pilot, John Howard of Sunnyvale, Calif., and his passengers, 56-year-old Catherine Heveran of Sunnyvale and 25-year-old James Chatham of Spokane, Wash.

The Beech C-35 had taken off from Boulder en route to San Jose, Calif. It crashed near Rollinsville, 30 miles west of downtown Denver and 13 miles from Boulder.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

A National Transportation Safety Board report issued last week quotes the daughter of one of the passengers as saying the pilot made the emergency landing because of a wiring problem in the propeller governor, which limits the speed of the propeller.

The single-engine plane crashed Aug. 4 in the mountains near Rollinsville, killing everyone aboard.

Authorities identified the victims as the 70-year-old pilot, John Howard of Sunnyvale, Calif., and his passengers, 56-year-old Catherine Heveran of Sunnyvale and 25-year-old James Chatham of Spokane, Wash.

The plane took off from Boulder en route to San Jose, Calif.

The NTSB has not determined the cause.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The high winds caused unexpected destruction. It ripped roofs off buildings, blew fences out of the ground and caused windows to burst.

“The wind was so powerful that all the glass was shaking,” a Georgetown resident said.

“We found a window broken. We found two sections of our fence leaning up against the house,” Sylvia Lears said.

[worldnow id=6450820 width=420 height=278 type=video]

In Georgetown wind punched through car windows. Thousands of residents in several counties lost power completely.

“It just sounded like the rooms were collapsing, almost,” a resident said.

“We were seeing gusts in excess of 80 to 90 miles per hour,” Brett Thomas with United Power said.

Thomas worked 26 hours straight trying to restore power in Gilpin County. In 12 years he can’t recall a worse wind storm.

“We’ve got pictures of just huge trees uprooted,” Thomas said.

Finishing the job has been a struggle. Crews have to climb steep inclines to get to lines damaged by fallen trees.

“It’s been hectic. The winds up here have been unreal,” Thomas said.

Sepia black and white version, This is an old building up in the Rocky Mountains in Rollinsville with peeling wood on a door and old wood window and stone. This was at one time a winter summer place for skates to bait. I have been to this place many times and it is funny how all of sudden you notice something cool that has been there the whole time. Buy this sepia black and white fine art old wood doors window rustic decor photography photograph Image available in the on-line gallery as a Fine Art Print, Canvas Art , Framed Print, Poster and Greeting Card. For sale and available in all sizes, custom framed or unframed to decorate your office walls, home walls, cafe, restaurant, boardroom, waiting room or almost any commercial space. With Fast, Secure world wide shipping to your door. Wall prints are also a great gift idea. Images are also available for stock photography and licensing. http://www.JamesInsogna.com 1-888-682-0122

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We decide to pull off the highway in Rollinsville, hoping to grab a sandwich and something to drink. We are not sure about the tiny town at first. There’s an antique shop and a place called the Stage Stop. “Serving hicks, hippies and bikers since 1868,” says the sign atop the door. There are paintings on plywood on the walls and hardly anyone in the place.

We dare to go in to check out the lunch menu and are pleasantly surprised. Pulled pork and chicken salad sandwiches. Home made potato chips. Garden salads. We order and wonder about the place; ask the young waiter what it’s all about. Soon enough the owner shows up.

His name is Patrick Schuchard and for years, he taught art at the University of Washington in St. Louis. When he’d had enough, he and his wife, Carol Crouppen Schuchard, moved out here — this was where his father used to bring the family for vacations when he was growing up.

They live in a nearby town called Eldora but have a studio here. And the Stage Stop.

The building was originally the Toll Gate Barn for the Butterfield Stage Coach Company that ferried people across the continental divide through the Rollins Pass. Schuchard loved the civil war-era wooden building with its rough hewn post and beam timbers. He bought it, restored it and turned it into a cafe, bar and dance hall where artists like Judy Collins, Three Dog Night, Dave Matthews Band and others have graced the stage. This part of Colorado was hippie central once, Schuchard tells us.

Les the bartender stands before the old bar and tells us how the place was haunted. He has heard ghosts whispering.

Schuchard says two women once walked in and told him that many years ago their great uncle had hung himself in the basement of the building. Not a comforting feeling. But then again, the place was also a butcher shop in one of its many incarnations.

He shows us around the place, tells us of his dreams and ambitions for this unlikely establishment. He points to the oldest building in town, gives us history. Stephen Stills still has a house around here, Schuchard says.

He convinced a chef from a Boulder restaurant to come out here to cook. He wanted sophistication.

“We’re not trying to o nostalgia here.” he says. “I could have made it a very Western place. But I’m trying to make a peculiar brand of beauty.”

We are fascinated with the art on the walls and inquire about Schuchard’s work. Soon enough, we are inside the studio filled with his and his wife’s art. All of it seems surreal in this town, tucked away in the Rocky Mountains. I am glad we stopped.

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www.davedefourneaux.com/Architecture/architecture/7474451_nihF4#1222726324_am8qX

As I approached the human group, the Moose group headed off into the thicker brush before I could get a good pic…the loud rumbling truck that went by must have spooked them somewhat.  They headed along the road through some thick willows before heading deeper into the forest.  Since tracking a moose…and especially a Mother Moose with kids is high on the list of dumb things to do with very large game, especially un-armed… as my .44 is  on the shelf back home.  I considered my moose butt pic satisfactory.

The Moose is Loose

This is fifth moose sighting I have had in the last few years. Tori and I spied one while hiking in the west Magnolia area a couple years ago. I also saw one about then when heading to get the girls from school.  the other two were in Rocky….Our all time best Moose views however were from a couple years ago up in the Park near Sprague Lake.  Still looking for Bullwinkle with his impressive spread…these cows and kids are utterly “rackless”.

Rocky Moose 2008