Long’s Peak and Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park
Fall is a fabulous time of year to visit the national parks. Crowds are usually smaller than in the summer, temperatures are cooler, and some of our national parks have glorious fall colors. With so many to choose from, where should you go? Which national parks will provide the best photographic opportunities in the fall?
Hallett Peak and Flattop Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
What are the best national parks to photograph in the fall? Here are my choices, grouped by state and province from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to, plus the ones I most want to see based on the recommendations of the photographers I trust, like Tim Fitzharris and QT Luong. More about them later.
First sunlight on the peaks, Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake, early morning, September 24, 2015.
My fall in Colorado series.
The Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake by Moonlight with the Milky Way. September 23, 2015.
Colorado is the place to be the last week of September and early October. I will be sharing some of my favorite photos.
Marshall Pass is a beautiful fall color drive in southern Colorado. It used to be pretty much a secret but is has become more popular in recent years. It does not turn up on most lists of the most beautiful fall color drives in Colorado. It is a beautiful drive with a lot of fall color photo opportunities.
Headed for Colorado this fall (or any other time of year)? Welcome to my complete Colorado fall color photography and travel guide with 135 photos, 18 maps, and over 100 pages of information (if you print it all out). I cover many of the best fall color locations in Colorado, and most of these locations look great any other time of year. This guide gives you options for spending anywhere from a few days to two weeks exploring the beautiful Colorado Rockies at a gorgeous time of year.
Lamoni Demons high school homecoming football game against the Seymour Warriors.
Cody Burton (#3) escapes the Warrior player for Lamoni’s first touchdown.
The Lamoni High School Demons (black with red helmets) played the Seymour Iowa Warriors Friday, September 11, 2026. The following brief article and three of these nine photos were published in the September 17 issue of the Lamoni Chronicle.
Visitors explore the grounds of the Flight 93 National Memorial on September 10, 2026, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. United Airlines Flight 93, carrying 40 passengers and crew members, crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 2001, after the passengers and crew attempted to regain control of the hijacked aircraft. (Photo by Matthew HATCHER / AFP via Getty Images)
You can see videos of the 9/11 memorial services at this PBS link:
Your guide to the 25th anniversary events happening at the 9/11 memorial sites
It was 25 years ago but I remember it like it was yesterday.
I was working in my office. The family/TV room was right around the corner. The phone rang and I picked it up. “Stop whatever you are doing and turn on the TV.” I walked around the corner and turned it on.
The Twin Towers from by 2,977 drones lights, one for each 9/11 victim.
People watch a drone light show depicting the Twin Towers in the lower Manhattan skyline during testing for the 9/11 Tribute in Light installation in New York City. September 9, 2026. Getty Images.
“On America’s day of trial and grief I saw millions of people instinctively grab for a neighbor’s hand and rally to the cause of one another. That is the America I know.
Photographer Chip East was staring intensely at his laptop screen.
It was two weeks after two jetliners had plowed into the towers of the World Trade Center. His good friend, photojournalist Bill Biggart’s body had been recovered from the rubble. His personal effects, including his cameras had been released by authorities to his widow, Wendy.
Bill Biggart’s final photograph. He was killed when the second World Trade Center tower collapsed on top of him. He was 53 years old.
This compilation of news reports captures the essence of that morning better than almost any other video on YouTube.
LET US PRAY
On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked and ultimately crashed. Two crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and one crashed into the Pentagon. The fourth crashed in Pennsylvania.
LET US PRAY.
Photo by James Nachtwey for TIME magazine.
I will never forget staring at the screen. I was stunned. It was just a few moments after I got the phone call to turn on the TV. Then the second plane hit.
On this date, twenty-five years ago, we experienced a great national tragedy in the United States. 2,977 lives that were lost in the terrorist attacks. So many families were torn asunder. The way we view ourselves and our world changed. Emergency responders continue to suffer terrible health problems as a result of working at the scene. The way we view ourselves and our world changed too. Over 2,000 first responders have died of health issues related to 9/11.
In remembrance of that day, and to honor the lives that were lost, I am posting some tributes.
Yucca, Organ Mountains, New Mexico. Monday, Jan 8, 1990. Canon AE-1, Fujichrome 50 slide film.
This is one of my favorite images from New Mexico so I decided to see if I could find the GPS coordinates using Google Earth Pro (a free software download). I was staying in Las Cruces New Mexico and I decided to take pictures at sunrise on the east side of the Organ Mountains.
Long’s Peak and Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park
Fall is a fabulous time of year to visit the national parks. Crowds are usually smaller than in the summer, temperatures are cooler, and some of our national parks have glorious fall colors. With so many to choose from, where should you go? Which national parks will provide the best photographic opportunities in the fall?
Hallett Peak and Flattop Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
What are the best national parks to photograph in the fall? Here are my choices, grouped by state and province from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to, plus the ones I most want to see based on the recommendations of the photographers I trust, like Tim Fitzharris and QT Luong. More about them later.
Snowy Egret feeding, San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Fremont California.
Today is National Wildlife Day. Many of the things we do to protect endangered species also protects the environment and therefore benefit us. You can make a difference by supporting high rated charities and organizations that work to protect wildlife and the environment.
September 3 is National Wilderness Day.
Bear Lake, Longs Peak and the Keyboard of the Winds.
Marshall Pass is a beautiful fall color drive in southern Colorado, and still pretty much a secret. It does not turn up on most lists of the most beautiful fall color drives in Colorado. It is a beautiful drive with a lot of fall color photo opportunities.
Headed for Colorado this fall (or any other time of year)? Welcome to my complete Colorado fall color photography and travel guide with 133 photos, 18 maps, and over 100 pages of information (if you print it all out). I cover many of the best fall color locations in Colorado, and most of these locations look great any other time of year. This guide gives you options for spending anywhere from a few days to two weeks exploring the beautiful Colorado Rockies at a gorgeous time of year.
Autumn on the Taiga. Denali National Park, Alaska. September 1, 2000.
The colors were outrageous on the taiga. This is a great time of year to go to Denali National Park.
Caribou on the Taiga, Denali National Park, Alaska. August 30, 2000.
A bus load of photographers was on a photo excursion in Denali National Park with George Lepp. He spotted this caribou, told the bus driver to drive down the road a few hundred yards and stop. Then we got out and waited, a lined up in a row. George told us to wait, be quiet, and move as little as possible. If we did what he said, he predicted the caribou would eventually walk right by us. It did. We all got great shots. Then he explained how he knew where the caribou was likely to walk. This image is part of my fall color series.
Bearberry and the Alaska Range, Denali National Park, Alaska. Tuesday, Aug 29, 2000.
On the fall in Denali National Park, Bearberry turns fire red.
Caribou, Alaska Range in the background, Denali National Park, Alaska. Aug 28, 2000.
Autumn comes early in Denali National Park. We were in a bus on the park road when I pointed my camera out the window and grabbed this picture.
