Grace Cohen
July 2025 - Lower Peak Timpanogus
Original
About the Image(s)
Subject: Fall Foliage in Utah Mountain Weather
Location: Mt Timpanogus from Alpine Scenic Loop at American Fork, UT Shot: April 2025
Photographer: Grace Dunklee Cohen
Gear: Apple iPhone SE, Handheld, no filters
Edited in Lightroom Classic to bring back the “As Seen” look to this iPhone image that looked flat with a greenish cast.
It was my first time taking my photo buddy-best friend Sister to some of my favorite places in Utah. October 2023 gave us a fresh dusting of snow on the high peaks ??“ a perfect foil for the bright yellow aspen foliage. Not sure if the Alpine Scenic Loop would be open (or driveable) to take us the prettiest way to Sundance Ski Area, we took a chance on the high road and weren’t disappointed. We stopped many times to shoot on this drive, and once when we came over a rise, there was a most dramatic scene with intense warm and cool light ??“ but no place to park ??“ or even pull over. Instead of getting my “real” camera out, I put my flashers on and left the car in the travel lane, jumping out with my (old) iPhone SE. The original image had a greenish cast, so I had to do many selective edits using LRC’s many masking tools (sky, radial gradient, and brush) to bring this shot back to “as seen” quality. The sky was dark and foreboding, but with cracks of promising light showing through. This lower peak of Mt Timpanogus sported a fresh mantle of snow, and the aspens literally glowed warm orange-yellow in the cool light.
Wish I’d felt safer taking the time to get my real camera gear out, or at least specify RAW instead of JPG, as I may not have needed to make all of the spot adjustments to bring this shot back to “as seen”. But leaving a car in the roadway on a corner on a narrow, winding mountain pass isn’t the safest choice.
By the time I got back to the car, the drama had left the scene because the clouds closed in again, leaving the light dim and flat.
5 comments posted
For me one of the keys to this image is the large pine tree near the center that is partly placed against the white clouds. If you could have either shot sooner or maybe a bit later so that the tree had a white cloud fully behind it, that green tree against a white cloud, in the center of the image would have been a real stunning centerpiece. Of course you would have to bring up the green of the tree. But the white balance should help.
I do really like the triangular peak framed by the aspen, just bring the aspen to life.
Posted: 07/04/2025 20:08:14
- Edit 1 follows Larry and Michael's suggestions
- Edit 2 includes all above except the left-hand crop.
Thoughts??
PS - I took this road last week on the way down to Sundance Resort from Park City Utah for lunch with a friend. It was hot, pretty green & very sunny! Posted: 07/22/2025 20:34:10
