In the Cimmerons

The quest for fall color often means driving. One clear day I drove over Owl Creek Pass to photograph the Cimmeron Range. There was a spot I knew of where a small stand of aspen would turn reddish orange instead of the more common yellow. I was hoping to backlight these trees and have the Cimmeron ridges behind them. In 2004 I was there with dark stormy sky hanging over the range and came away with a great image. This was very different light and color, but I still had hopes for backlit red aspens. I found the aspen but they were not red this year, they were regular ol' yellow. I still took and image, but the conditions just were not there.

I explored more of the area and off of a small side road I found a stream that made a great leading line to rugged Cimmeron ridges in the distance. This sure is a scenic place. The sky was clear but the somewhat backlit trees still made it a great location. I set about making an image.

With the "severe clear" you cannot put in much sky so I used the stream to fill the image and just put in a little of the sky over the peaks. I touch of the polarizer to help with the light and the sky and the image is there. A little exploration and a great location get a great image even on a bluebird day.