During the month of October,  my images from my trip to the Taos, NM area early in the month were my most popular posts on Instagrram and Vero.  Most photos featured the beautiful fall colors in the area, which reached peak in many areas while I was there.  I was guided on this expedition by Geraint Smith, an outstanding photographer and workshop provider who resides in the Taos area and has been capturing images there for decades.  Check out  Geraint's work at geraintsmith.com.

This photo was taken at Hopewell Lake, just off US 64 between Tres Piedras and Terra Amarilla, NM.  A dense stand of aspens highlighted by sunlight through the cloudy skies is mirrored in the calm waters of the lake.  My patience as a photographer was tested for this shot,  as we had to wait for the sun to break through a dense cloud bank.  This light was fleeting when it finally broke through, lasting only a few seconds but enough time to capture the image.

A bit earlier in the morning, we stopped at another location along the same route, and spent time capturing the fallen aspen leaves and still-vibrant trees.  As we were returning back to the highway, I noticed this picturesque aspen with the remaining leaves backlit by the morning sun against a dramatic New Mexico sky.  I hopped out and captured one of my favorite compositions - The Lone Tree in the Square Composition.  Colorfull aspens across the highway and a stand with thinning leaves nearby framed the tree nicely.

Earlier in the trip, my wife and I took a drive along the High Road to Taos, stopping at several of the adobe churches along the route.  Fall colors in this area were more muted as it was at lower elevations and just beginning to change, so I focused on the architecture.  A stop at the San Lorenzo do Picuris Mission provided this image, where I composed the shot with the "Stairway to Heaven" ladder on the side wall reaching upward to a lone cloud in the sky.  A black and white edit emphasized the texture of the adobe building and the contrast with the sky.
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Scott Purdy