Autumn at the Cabin

For the past three years, every October I have been searching tirelessly for a Fall photo amongst the Eastern Sierra Aspens, and every year, I couldn't seem to get something I felt good about. I had seen photos of this old barn in Hope Valley for quite some time, and this year, I was determined to find it. I said to myself, "if I can get that photo, that would be the Aspen photo I have been dreaming about." I spent two full days in Hope Valley trying to find it, and both times, came up empty handed. After the second time, I turned to ChatGPT and google to see if the internet could offer me some assistance. Lo and behold, I found a blog that gave the exact coordinates, ALAS! I had finally found it, as long as the coordinates were correct that is.  A few days later I had my opportunity. I decided I would aim for morning, golden light, so I set my alarm for 4:15am to make sure I got up there with plenty of time to find it, as well as find where I wanted to shoot it from. The early morning drive to the mountains in the dark, coffee in hand is spectacular. No traffic, stars are out, as peaceful as can be. As I approached the location, the sun was just starting to give off some light, I came around a bend, and there it was, nestled behind the pine and aspen trees. I could not believe I was finally here. The air was cold, and all the grass was covered in frost. I walked around for a bit, trying to find the best spot, fighting through brush, crawling over rocks, and in a creek, just to realize that the best spot was from the road. Only problem was, I couldn't see that well over the brush, so I moved my car to where I thought was best, stood on top of my car, held the camera over my head to get as high as I could, and took the photo. Soft morning light with all the colors of Fall. Autumn at the barn, what a magical sight.