My Aspen Fetish

Long time readers of my blog may recall my discovery of aspen trees in the woodlands I lived near in the UK. They surprised me when I found them and have some special meaning as they were a regular fall feature in Flagstaff Arizona where I grew up. Around Sandpoint we also have aspen though not in such gigantic groves as further south in Arizona, Colorado or Utah. I also see that the bark is not quite so bright white. Never-the-less the small round leaves that quaver delicately in the wind turn a wonderful luminous yellow in the fall and can move onto oranges and reds as well.

At Pines Street Woods there are not a lot of aspens however I do watch one small grove on the Zen Garden trail. Frustratingly the location is right adjacent to a high-tension power line right-of-way. It is also on the edge of a steep slope and this all conspires to make it difficult to find good compositions. Still, I made a few attempts from different angles. I also considered photoshopping out the power lines though this leaves me with a sense of violation. (It is also a huge pain in the ass.)

When I arrived at this grove I hiked in the near darkness of early dawn. The dark dome of night and stars was brightening from dark blue to cornflower blue. My first visit I was shooting handheld with my Fuji GFX 50s ii and the Zuiko 135mm f2.8 lens. Thus, I was not in a hurry as I needed the morning to brighten.

For me the best time for these aspen photos if just before sunrise with a clear blue sky, during what is sometimes ‘blue hour’. Before the horizons are tinged with dirty orange or magenta light. To my eyes the colors are absolutely luminous then.

I puzzled over why, and my personal theory is that if we recall additive color theory yellow is the sum of blue and green. The sky contributes extra blue hue to the light and the evergreen forest supplies a rich green. The aspen leaves reflect this filtered light, and this brightens the yellow color of the leaves.

As the sun rises and casts its warmer glow the leaves edge more towards orange.