Fall means luxurious yellows, oranges and reds. It’s the iconic symbol of the season and in Montana, with Cottonwoods and Aspens all over the place, it’s a great time of the year to be out shooting. There’s one spot I love going and it’s not because of the color. There is a stretch of hwy 191 that goes between Gallatin Gateway and West Yellowstone and it is absolutely beautiful the entire year. This time of the year it’s great because we are starting to get snow fall on top of the peaks which means cloud cover. Well this particular stretch is great for getting really interesting clouds rolling over the pine trees.
Now before I went down this road I had set out with no plan, no agenda, just a fun afternoon drive. It’s how I like to shoot. It keeps it fun and rewarding. When you’re fixed with a plan you build up your own hopes that can be let down. If you’re just driving, you’ll have fun. I had my usual setup, D4 and 70-200VR II, on my lap ready for the image that stands out. I pulled over a couple times and found some great creeping clouds moving along the peaks. I took these shots knowing that I would convert them later to black and white. I was going more off of the contrast in shape as opposed to color. All of these were quick shots that came as result of picking a direction and going. It’s that simple.