LOCAL COLOR

Editor’s Note: The following portfolio was shot along the South Fork of Cave Creek in the Chiricahua Mountains. Earlier this summer, the Horseshoe Two Fire scorched parts of the area where the photographs were made. At press time, we still weren’t able to get in there to assess the damage. We’re hopeful that what you’ll see in the next 10 pages survived the flames, but as of right now, we just don’t know.
 

The smooth, cascading water of Cave Creek provides a dramatic contrast to the thick blanket of maple leaves covering the canyon floor.

A juxtaposition of nature: the trunk of a mature ponderosa pine next to a sycamore trunk surrounded by a canopy of autumn orange leaves.

Gold maple leaves surround the trunk of a ponderosa pine in Cave Creek Canyon.

Still bracken ferns cast delicate shadows on the trunk of an Arizona white oak.

A curtain of red maple leaves creates a vibrant backdrop as a giant boulder and a yucca plant take center stage.

Brown, yellow and orange sycamore leaves decorate a section of Cave Creek near a water-carved wall.

Clusters of red maple leaves appear even more magical as star-bursts, created by the sun, highlight the leaves floating in a pool along Cave Creek.

Warm tones of sycamore, maple and willow trees are subtly reflected in the placid pools of Cave Creek.

Conifer needles float among the sycamore and maple leaves in a quiet pool of water in Cave Creek Canyon.