Cottonwoods

I really enjoy photographing autumn color.  In the mixed hardwoods of the eastern US, the beech/maple/oak forest, the trees present a wash of color, even a painterly effect.  Not so on the high plains and prairies.  Here the autumn color is that of the cottonwood trees, which line every local water source.  In contrast to the mixed reds and oranges of the eastern autumn, cottonwoods show only one color: yellow gold.  But be out photographing when the trees hit peak color, and the intensity is overwhelming.  Here are a couple of shots from two weeks ago in central Montana.  No, I wasn’t intentionally there to photograph the cottonwoods, in fact I was just passing through the region headed elsewhere, but who could resist?

 

 

3 Comments

  1. Andrew McLachlan October 31, 2013 at 6:11 pm #

    Love the way the golden yellow is contrasting with the dark trunks and the second image is especially nice with the lower perspective. The autumn color here in south-central Ontario was somewhat dismal when compared to previous years, however, a few nice pockets of color could be found.

  2. Sajjad Khani November 1, 2013 at 5:52 am #

    the colors are beautiful

    fantastic

  3. Mark November 8, 2013 at 6:53 am #

    The dark trunks make me think of the lyric “strike a pose.” And of course they are moving, with time, with growth, with change…