I’ve always wanted to create an image like one of those storybook images in Europe. You know the kind I am referring to…

The row of farm houses lined up along the shore of a big lake. Their reflections are bouncing off of the glassy water, and the mountains are looming above them in the background. I never thought it possible to find a setting like that here in the States.

My wife and I were on a photo trip in the Durango Colorado area. Our timing had been perfect to capture the mountains in the middle of the Autumn colors. What wasn’t perfect were the circumstances. Our schedules had been so busy leading up to this trip that we had not done any research or planning. We had accepted the fact that we would go with the flow and take what we could get. To top it off, neither of us had been to the area before.

The weekend was stormy, which made for some spectacular clouds on some days, but it challenged us in other ways. At the end of our 2nd day, we were driving up the canyon to our accommodations. Storm clouds were setting in and it was starting to sprinkle. I noticed that the sun roof was making more noise than usual, I thought that maybe the open button had gotten bumped. Out of instinct, I reached up and opened the sunroof so that I could get a complete close. My wife thought I was crazy, since it was starting to rain. “No problem” I said, as I pushed the button again to close the sunroof.

I’m sure you have had one of those “I told you so” moments when you mess up after someone warned you otherwise. Let’s just say that when I pushed the button to close the sunroof, nothing happened. I’ll spare you all the gritty details other than to say, I had to drive fast to outrun the storm. We were blessed to have covered parking, and I lost a half day trying to fix the sunroof and then sealing it up after giving up on fixing it.

Two mornings later it was time to head home. We left just as the sun was topping the mountains hoping to see something great to photograph on our way out. We hadn’t driven for 5 minutes when we came across the most gorgeous setting. In fact, it was just like one of those storybook images.

The lighting was perfect, the weather was mostly calm with a slight breeze. There was a lake bordered with beautiful natural grasses, across the lake where some quaint little cabins and sheds. The mountains behind were lit up with the light bouncing off the golden Quaking Aspen leaves. To top it off, the trees were reflecting off of the water. It was as if I was in one of those little mountain towns in Europe.

I could just picture this image on the cover of a coffee table book, or even better hanging on the wall of my living room. We hung out at the edge of the lake for quite a while working on multiple compositions. I have to say, I am pretty proud of how it turned out and I am happy to share it with you! I am excited to hear where you decided to hang your copy of this beautiful art piece.