If I could live anywhere it would most likely be in a beautiful aspen forest.  There are few trees that take my breath away like aspens, and I love trees.  When they are in their autumn garment I could photograph them forever.

When my wife and I traveled to Utah’s Mt. Timpanogos Wilderness we were simply overwhelmed by the beauty of the landscapes and especially by the gorgeous and radiant aspens surrounding us.  It was like a candy store or an amusement park for a kid.  The conditions were sublime:  crisp, with storms rolling through the region but not to the point where we’d be just socked in, and the trees were in brilliant color.

It was difficult to leave but we were hungry for many more destinations we had planned.  As we were making our way to Mt. Nebo Wilderness a huge thunderstorm was building just to the west but its fingers were already reaching over us.  The sky was growing dark, there was an electric feel in the air, heavy rain was falling behind us, thunder was piercing the silence.

Then I saw it, a grove so beautiful it was like glimpsing a piece of heaven.  The trees so graceful, glowing with color, silent and sweetly fragrant, dark thunder clouds in the distance.  An occasional distant sound of massive thunder was the only sound breaking the silence.  I felt great joy descending on me as I began setting up my tripod and then my Pentax 67 film camera.

We witnessed many breathtaking moments and landscapes during this trip but to me this remains the most fantastic memory, and the fact that my wife Heather was standing next to me makes it infinitely more special.  And to this day, the image I was blessed with is one of my favorites of all time.

Mt. Nebo aspens at peak of autumn with distant thunderstorm | Utah