FALL

Seasons change. There come the first chilling breezes from the north, and even the calendar cannot gainsay the fact that autumn is about to move in, changing the world from green to one of gold and brown and brighter colors. One night a frost envelops the world of green leaves, and the frost comes like a silent stranger, a powerful stranger, waving a wand of magic. The touch of that wand means the end is near for the green leaf on the tree.

Almost overnight, the green disappears from the leaves. They take on the colors of autumn — brown, gold, dust, red — depending on the species of the trees. With life gone, the leaves cannot resist the pull
of the harsher winds of autumn. When the brown leaves start falling, autumn possesses the land. The leaves form a brown carpet on the earth, a carpet that is crunchy and crackles underfoot. But even in their transition from the living to the dead, the leaves add color and beauty to the scene. Theirs is the high note of loveliness to the lovely season that is autumn.

— Raymond Carlson, September 1954
 

Michael Wilson
Christopher Creek, a waterway on Central Arizona’s Mogollon Rim, cascades through an autumn landscape of red and orange maple leaves. In addition to autumn splendor, this creek is known for its populations of rainbow, brown and brook trout.
NIKON D850, 1/2 SEC, F/14, ISO 100, 28 MM LENS

 

Paul Gill
Maple leaves, tree trunks and a Schott’s yucca combine to form an autumn scene in Miller Canyon, part of the Huachuca Mountains of Southern Arizona. Schott’s yuccas are also known as mountain yuccas, given their ability to grow at higher elevations than many yucca species.
CANON EOS R5, 1/8 SEC, F/10, ISO 100, 96 MM LENS

 

Rebecca Wilks
Evergreen needles form a striking contrast with golden aspen leaves in the Kaibab National Forest of Northern Arizona. Encompassing three sections north and south of the Grand Canyon and near Williams, the Kaibab covers a total of 1.6 million acres.
CANON EOS R5, 1/100 SEC, F/13, ISO 400, 118 MM LENS

 

Michael Wilson
A gnarled aspen trunk displays an eye-catching shape on the steep eastern slope of Humphreys Peak, the highest mountain in Arizona. “I had to get my arm and camera over my head and through the heavy vegetation for a decent composition,” the photographer recalls.
NIKON D850, 1/500 SEC, F/5.6, ISO 400, 70 MM LENS

 

Kathy Ritter
A fallen oak leaf, displaying its autumn hues, stands out on a moss-covered log in Arizona’s high country. Arizona is home to several oak species, and these trees combine with maples to form much of the state’s fall color show.
CANON EOS 5D MARK III, 1/80 SEC, F/8, ISO 800, 73 MM LENS

 

ClaIre Curran
A large aspen grove and low clouds define a view of nearby Kendrick Peak from the San Francisco Peaks’ Aspen Nature Loop at twilight. Kendrick Peak is a dormant lava dome volcano that last erupted at least 1.4 million years ago.
CANON EOS 5DS R, 0.8 SEC, F/14, ISO 100, 127 MM LENS

 

Michael Wilson
Golden leaves, viewed from under a tree near the Prescott area’s Watson Lake, take on a fiery appearance when struck by sunlight. Fall color in and around Prescott typically peaks from mid-October to early November, depending on weather conditions.
NIKON D750, 1/160 SEC, F/22, ISO 400, 14 MM LENS

 

Claire Curran
Heavy runoff creates a multitude of cascades amid fallen maple leaves in Wet Canyon, part of the Pinaleño Mountains of Eastern Arizona. This canyon can be accessed via State Route 366 (the Swift Trail), a paved road into the Pinaleños.
CANON EOS-1DS MARK III, 1 SEC, F/16, ISO 100, 45 MM LENS

 

Paul Gill
On a misty morning, evergreens in Gentry Canyon, on the Mogollon Rim, surround a copse of aspens and a smattering of maples in autumn dress. The photographer used a camera drone to capture this scene from a novel vantage point.
DJI MINI 2, 1/10 SEC, F/2.8, ISO 160, 4.5 MM LENS

 

Paul Gill
After a period of heavy winds, maple leaves litter a cascade on Workman Creek, in the Sierra Ancha Wilderness of Central Arizona. The creek can be accessed via Forest Road 487, which leads east from State Route 288 north of Globe.
CANON EOS 5D MARK II, 2 SEC, F/11, ISO 100, 24 MM LENS

 

Norma Jean Gargasz
The Bear Wallow area of the Santa Catalina Mountains, near Tucson, wears an October blanket of crimson maple leaves. The Catalina Highway, which leads from the Tucson area to near the summit of Mount Lemmon, offers ample opportunities to view the mountains’ fall color.
NIKON D850, 1/100 SEC, F/5, ISO 400, 20 MM LENS

 

Shane McDermott
Wispy vegetation and leafless trees combine for an eerie scene on the bank of Mittry Lake, along the Colorado River just northeast of Yuma. The 600-acre lake and its surrounding 2,400 acres of habitat are the focus of a wildlife area managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
NIKON D750, 1/15 SEC, F/8, ISO 100, 160 MM LENS

 

Jack Dykinga
A pair of oaks frame the setting sun in a grassland at Cochise Stronghold, part of the Dragoon Mountains of Southeastern Arizona. In addition to scenes such as this one, Cochise Stronghold is known for its rock-climbing opportunities and peregrine falcon nesting sites.
ARCA-SWISS F-FIELD 4X5, FUJICHROME VELVIA, 1/2 SEC, F/45, ISO 50, 120 MM LENS

 

Tom Bean
Fetid goosefoot, a native plant, displays its autumn colors in a wildfire-charred area near Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, northeast of Flagstaff. This photo was made in September 2022, after the Tower Fire burned the area in April of that year.
CANON EOS 5D MARK III, 1/13 SEC, F/14, ISO 200, 45 MM LENS