Luminous

Some dictionary definitions of the word “luminous” include: “emitting or reflecting usually steady, suffused or glowing light,” “bathed in or exposed to steady light,” or “shining, illustrious.”

This glowing group of aspens certainly seem to convey those ideas.

We had spent the day driving up along the Cimarron River east of Montrose, CO searching for fall color. One area that especially intrigued us was a couple of small lakes located up a short 4WD road near Silver Jack Reservoir. Having seen fall photos of the lakes before, we had reserved the evening “golden hour” to visit the two lakes to see what photos we could capture. Arriving with about an hour of light left before the sun set behind the high mountain ridge, we hastened to the first lake, took a number of photos and then hastened on to the next lake which lay about a half mile away along a trail with cattle grazing nearby. By the time we arrived at that other lake, we only had about fifteen minutes of direct light left so we quickly set up and began photographing the amazingly luminous scene, reflected in the small lake. This one particular shot stood out, not only for the luminous clump of aspens, but also for the reflection, softened by a gentle breeze causing the water surface to ripple just a little and giving a kind of Monet-effect to the scene. Within just a few more minutes the light had faded. In fact, you can even see the encroaching evening shadow as it worked across the lake and up the grassy slope.