Never Stop Exploring (Joseph Rossbach)

For the past eight days, I have been in Jackson, Wyoming shooting landscapes and fall color, as well as leading a photo tour of Grand Teton National Park. Every day I was up at 4am and often didn't get to bed until after 11pm. Exhausted at the end of the trip I drove five hours south to Salt Lake City (where I am penning this post) to catch a flight back home. After arriving in Salt Lake, I was completely exhausted. My body was telling me to relax but my drive to create beautiful images was forcing me to put aside my utter exhaustion and head for the mountains of the Wasatch in search of autumn landscapes.

The clouds were building in dramatic form as I drove east from Salt Lake towards Mount Timpanagos and the Alpine Loop. This area is famous for its stunning autumn color and rugged Rocky Mountain landscapes, and I really wanted to capture the breathtaking beauty of the region--the problem was I only had a few hours to do so!

With a positive attitude and thirst for exploring and experiencing the area, I drove the crooked and winding route of the Alpine Loop, stopping every so often to shoot amazing aspen stands and scout for possible views at sunset across the mountains. As sunset approached, the clouds above the Timpanagos and the mountains surrounding began to erupt in thunderstorms with the occasional sprinkle of rain showering down on me and lightning strikes crashing the horizon. As I drove around looking for places to park along the road, I found a location looking southwest that filled the frame with an amazing view of the mountains and surrounding hillsides of fall color. I sat on the scene for over an hour watching the light and refining my composition as the clouds swirled and erupted in color.

The image above is the result of the never ending drive to always experience the power and beauty of nature and more importantly continue to challenge myself to find ways to capture and interpret her beauty. The moral of this post is to never give in, continue to inspire yourself and others and to never stop exploring!