Wonderland

Telluride Colorado, 2023

Limited edition fine art print of 6 – In the fall of 2023, I had the pleasure to spend a few weeks in Telluride, Colorado, photographing fall colors in the mountains. It was my first trip to this part of Colorado and my first fall in the state. Colorado is known for its beautiful groves of mountain aspens that paint the landscape yellow during fall. When I arrived, the fall colors had not set in yet. I was nervous I was too early this year. Nailing the peak fall colors at the right time is a tricky thing to do. So many variables can set the colors off, but there is no exact date it happens. It is nature, after all. Then it happened. Over a span of three days, the mountains transitioned from green into a kaleidoscope of color. I went crazy over the next few days, photographing every beautiful mountain scene I could. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, nature had one more trick up its sleeve. An early snowstorm dropped soft white snow across the landscape, making an already beautiful place a wonderland. Photo © copyright by Derek Nielsen.