Pictures of Autumn

Rocky Mountain Photography is Fred and Joan Hanselmann

Rocky Mountain Phototograpy is myself and my wife, Fred and Joan Hanselmann. We have been seriously photographing the Rockies and the Southwest since 1990. We currently live and work in our home in the Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Albuquerque, NM. I am the guy on the left with the large format camera, taking pictures in Colorado. Joan is on the right, photographing with her medium format camera at McDonald Lake in Glacier National Park.

Both Joan and I have a great love for the mountains and rivers and deserts of the American west. I suppose this came from our childhoods. We both grew up in Wyoming and learned at an early age to love the wild places around us. Joan grew up camping and fishing and hiking with her family in the Wind River Mountains in the North-western part of the state.

I had similar experiences. When I was between ten and fourteen or so, my parents would often take my brother and I on a series of wonderful summer vacation trips to the great National Parks of the West.

Since we lived in Wyoming, one of the places we often visited was Grand Teton National Park. I can still remember one magic morning when we got up very early to go on a hike around Jenny Lake shortly after dawn. The lake was absolutely still and mirrored the majestic Cathedral Group of the Tetons. Mists swirled above the lake and in the high peaks. The air was filled with the scent of pine and clean mountain water. I was absolutely enthralled. I vowed to come back. And I have. I've been back to the Tetons every year of my life since, except for a couple of years that I spent in the army. The Tetons have become a central and enduring part of my life.

And then there were countless fishing and camping trips in Wyoming that filled my mind with happy memories. The smell of sage, the sound of running water, the sight of white cumulus clouds floating high over blue peaks had a large influence on my developing mind.

I'm sure that all of these experiences played a large part in my decision to become a landscape photographer. These images of the beauty of the natural world, seen at an early age, have remained with me all my life. Perhaps by being a landscape photographer, I'm trying, over and over, to recreate the perfection of these early images.

Autumn in New England

Autumn in New England is one of the most brilliant displays of autumn color anywhere.

In the far north, in Baxter State Park in the north woods of Maine, the fall colors begin turning in late September. Autumn comes to Baxter early but it is one of the very best places to see New England colors. The North Woods of Baxter are like no other woods you have ever seen. It is solid woods where roads and trails are small and temporary and where they wage a constantly losing battle with the encroaching trees.

By early October, fall in New England has reached Acadia National Park in mid-coast Maine. The is another great place to see the colors change in New England. Probably the best place to see the autumn colors in Acadia is on the top of Cadillac Mountain. Here you can see the brilliant reds of maple and birch, often shrouded in fog, against a backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean and Frenchman's bay. I would vote this spot as having some of the very reddest leaves in New England. This is very much an unforgettable experience. The picture above was taken on Cadillac Mountain.

Further south, in the White Mountains, along the Kancamagus Highway, the peak of autumn color, usually happens around the second week of October, often on Columbus Day. Fall in New England here means the Swift River roaring along between banks solidly lined with the brilliant reds of Maples and the softer yellows and the white bark of birch trees. This is one of the best drives into the state and perhaps the best drive through the fall colors of New England. The picture on the right was taken along the Swift River on the Kancamagus Highway.

A little further north, another great spot to view fall in New England is Crawford Notch. Here, Silver Falls is the epitome of fall colors in New England. This is without doubt one the of very best places to photograph the full majesty of the fall colors. I once spent a whole day here and took over 200 pictures of the picturesque cascades of Silver Falls. If I had to pick one spot to represent the very best of Autumn in New England, I think Silver Falls in Crawford Notch would be it. The picture to the left is Silver Falls.