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September 2004, we invited my parents to visit us in Colorado. My father has never visited the USA prior to this trip. We selected the month of September, assuming that they will enjoy seeing the aspen trees turning yellow.
Our first weekend, we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park, about 45 miles north of our home in Colorado. Fall was early that year, some of the Aspen trees started turning bright yellow. We stopped at a picnic area, right under some yellow aspen trees, and as everyone was busy preparing for lunch, I noticed these blue jays that were also interested in our lunch. I grabbed a long lens, decided on a direction to shoot where the yellow foliage, backlit by the noon’s sun, would show up as a totally yellow background for the bird. Blue on yellow is always a pleasing contrast: blue is a cold color, yellow is very warm.
The first pictures had very high contrast, due to the sun backlighting the yellow foliage. Few minutes later, some clouds provided an opportunity to shoot the same setting under a nice even overcast light. A blue jay decided to stop right on the branch where I needed it: a couple of shots later, he left, and the clouds disappear. That was the only shot during that entire day that benefited from a soft overcast light. And it was worth the wait, and definitely worth the trip. This shot has become my signature shot, appearing on the cover of my portfolio.
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