Ouray Fall Colors 2023 Trip Report for Tom Bol Photo Workshops

People come from all over the world to photograph the bright yellow aspen groves around Ouray, Colorado. We started our workshop off at Crystal Lake where calm mornings can lead to majestic mountain scenes reflected in the lake.

Cheryl dressed for the frosty morning

An unexpected morning visitor

Mike is all smiles with his Canon R6

Fall colors also show up in the smaller grasses and plants around the lake. It is a perfect place for macro photography. Fall foliage reflected in the lake can add interesting color to images from the shore.

Ed working the smaller scene

Morning frost on colorful elaves

Bonnie working the reflection shot at Crystal Lake

Landscape photographers love all of the grand scenes near Ouray. We traveled to Mt Sneffels, the Double RL Ranch and the Million Dollar Highway to photograph light moving across landscapes filled with fall color.

Million Dollar Highway

Debbie capturing Mt Sneffels in early light

Overlook of Mt Sneffels

With countless yellow aspen groves to choose from, we worked on techniques like sunstars, Intentional Camera Movement and capturing falling leaves.

Roberta capturing bright white trunks

John and Keith taking a break in the forest

We took advantage of the mining history of the area to photograph human elements like old mines, historic buildings in Silverton and the tin barn from the movie True Grit.

Shadow details from a visit to Silverton

Broken window on an historic mining building

Dallas Divide is always a popular sunrise spot for our groups. This year the Gambel Oak added beautiful orange and maroon hues to the scene

Gambel oak adds a different palette

Aspen skeletons in shadow and light

For the final shoot of the workshop we braved high winds to capture streaking clouds at Crystal Lake, using very slow shutter speeds and ND filters.

A BIG THANKS to all of the photographers who joined us for a spectacular workshop in Ouray!

Interested in joining us in Ouray in 2025? Space available. Click here to learn more