Aspen Tree Pond Reflection near Telluride, Colorado

This hidden gem of a pond sits just off the main road near Telluride, and it instantly catches your eye when scouting locations on a windy autumn afternoon. Seeing the brilliant grove of golden aspens lining the bank, it’s impossible not to envision a pristine reflection shot. There are actually several different compositions you can shoot at this place, so I walked up and down the bank, working different angles in my mind to find the exact frame I wanted. With the weather report promising calm morning air, I decided to camp out on the mountain road right there in my truck to catch the first light.

Morning arrived freezing cold, and with it, a photographer’s nightmare: my truck engine barely turned over, struggling on the last couple of cranks left on the battery. After a few tense, breath-holding seconds, the engine finally roared to life. I threw it into gear, arrived at the bank, and quickly set up my camera gear just as the sun began to breach the horizon.

To isolate the most compelling elements of the scene, I mounted a 70-200mm lens. This focal length allowed me to focus directly across the expanse of the pond, tightly cropping the frame right onto the opposing shoreline and the spectacular aspen trees while still capturing a beautiful portion of their golden reflection in the water.

This spot is an incredible sunrise location, especially during the peak time of year for autumn aspen trees in Colorado. I shot this on October 5th, right when the colors were at their absolute prime.

Nature, however, had other plans for the water. Instead of a dead calm, an unexpected morning breeze started to ripple across the pond. Rather than packing up, I adapted. Utilizing a split-frame composition to balance the sharp detail of the trees against the water, I dialed back my shutter speed to handle the elements. By locking down a 25-second shutter speed, I was able to completely blur out the waves and motion from the rising breeze. Slowing down the exposure transformed what could have been choppy, distracting water into a deliberate, painterly texture instead of a standard mirror reflection. The result is something entirely unique—a beautiful, textured, impressionistic reflection on the water.