7:38 am

That’s when the sun shines right through a pine bough and lights up one lonely aspen tree. I was walking with my four legged son on our ritual morning hike through Paige Meadows and it was by complete coincidence that I found this lone aspen amongst the pines. I have probably walked past it a hundred times but never noticed it till the sun hit just the yellow and orange leaves giving them an ethereal glow. I looked at my watch and 7:38 am was the time. So, I returned the next morning with my gear and set up to click the shutter just as the light shoots through the pines. The photo was ok in color and typically, you go out to photograph fall color for just that, the fall color, but the way the light hits just the leaves gives the tree a ghostly feeling in black and white. I always glance over to see the aspen on our morning walk and sometimes I can’t even see the green on green leaves through the pines but I know come fall, I’ll be waiting again at 7:38am.