There are few places more beautiful than Colorado in the autumn time when the aspen-covered mountains turn from green to yellow and gold. That is why the San Juan region is one of my favorite workshops to lead. The fall color is different every year and there are seemingly endless photo opportunities around every corner.

On the first day of the workshop, I took our group to an iconic vista of the Dallas Divide where we photographed the first light as it unfolded into the sunrise. Afterward, we drove to a beautiful grove of aspens where we captured sun stars as the sun rose over the mountains. After a good morning of shooting the group headed into Telluride for brunch. Since the days are short in the fall, the group decided to stay out and shoot all day. Our next stop was a beautiful lake deep in the woods where we photographed reflections of, you guessed it, more yellow aspens. For our final shoot of the evening, we drove up a beautiful pass to photograph one of my favorite groves of aspens before heading back to Ouray for dinner.

The next day we tried our hand again at the Dallas Divide but this time we shot the range from a different angle where we had the entire location all to ourselves. We shot an old pickup truck and started heading toward town when we noticed some incredible clouds forming over the Dallas Divide. We quickly turned around and made it just in time to get some incredible late-morning dappled light on the mountains. Afterward, I took the group up one of my favorite 4x4 roads since we had the vehicles capable of making it. At the top, we shot a quaint little waterfall. Our group was thrilled! Once the group had their fill, we headed to an iconic mountain vista for sunset.

On the third day of the trip, we headed out for one last sunrise shoot before heading back to town for a post-processing session. It was hard to see this workshop come to an end but I know the group got some excellent shots. I’m very much looking forward to next year’s workshop!

Until next time,

Mike and the rest of the Aperture Academy family

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