Fall Color in Southwest Colorado 2025

The San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado provide one of the most dramatic, breathtaking backdrops for Fall color in the entire United States.  Endless hillsides of Golden Aspen trees sparkle amid tall, jagged snow-capped mountain peaks that rival those found only in the Swiss Alps.

Join Charles and Melissa on this unforgettable 6-day Autumn photography workshop where you’ll spend days driving dusty country roads that wind their way to unmatched, jaw-dropping Fall scenery.  Treat your lenses to giant century-old Aspen groves, perfectly still pond reflections bursting with color, unusual colorful rock formations, historic Gold Rush era mining structures, and majestic mountain ranges above a tapestry of yellow, orange and red foliage.  With some luck, we might even catch some early season snowfall blanketing the slopes, or encounter bull moose or elk during the rutting season.

Charles and Melissa will guide you to some of the most beautiful spots in the area and provide expert instruction on how to best capture the light and make interesting compositions.  Field and classroom sessions will emphasize expressive, Impressionistic imagery and how to find and compose striking, unusual intimate landscape scenes, as well as abstracts and creative closeups.  The artistic possibilities will be limited only by your imagination in this photographer’s paradise.

In addition, throughout the week, you’ll receive lots of 1-on-1 personalized instruction from Charles and Melissa, and there will be plenty of lectures and supportive group image evaluations.

All skill levels and camera formats welcome, including smartphone cameras. Students should also have basic proficiency in post-capture image editing software, such as Lightroom, Photoshop or Snapseed.

INCLUDES

Six days of photography instruction in both the classroom and in the field, including field demos, classroom lectures, stimulating assignments and supportive group image evaluations.

DOES NOT INCLUDE

Airfare, airport transfers, transportation, lodging, meals and snacks, optional trip insurance, COVID-19 testing prior to arrival or departure (and during the workshop), and other incidentals such as laundry, phone calls, tips & gratuities, etc.

LODGING

A block of rooms has been reserved at a hotel in Ouray, CO at a discounted rate between $216 and $252 per night + tax, depending on room type. Upon registration, you’ll receive a special link to reserve your room at this hotel. All classroom sessions will a nearby location within a short walking distance.

GETTING THERE 

Ridgway is not near a major international airport, but it’s still easy to access.  Here are three ways to get there:

• Option 1 – Fly to Denver International Airport (DIA) and rent a car to make the 6-hour drive
• Option 2 – Fly to Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ) and rent a car to make the 30-minute drive. Airlines that frequent this airport vary, but connecting service through Denver is available year-round on United Airlines
• Option 3 – Fly to Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) and rent a car to make the 1 hour, 45-minute drive

Ground transportation is not included in this workshop, so you’ll want to rent a car.  We will encourage carpooling whenever possible due to limited parking in some shooting locations.  While not required, it would be advantageous to rent a four-wheel-drive (or all-wheel-drive) vehicle with high clearance, as we will be traveling on many dirt roads (unless it has rained recently).

ITINERARY

• Sunday, September 28

Meet & Greet at 7 pm.  Lecture and inspirational slide show.  Camera equipment overview.  Review workshop itinerary.

• Monday, September 29 – Thursday, October 2

4 full days of shooting and classroom time.  Sunrises, field shooting in the region along highways and backroads, lots of 1-on-1 instruction and field demos.  Return to hotel for mid-day breaks.  Some afternoon lectures.  Sunset shoots.  (All subject to change, depending on weather conditions, of course.)

• Friday, October 3

9 am to 12 noon.  Supportive group image evaluations.  Workshop concludes at 12 noon.

PROFICIENCY LEVEL

All skill levels and camera formats welcome, including smartphone cameras.  Participants should also have a basic understanding of exposure, camera operation in modes other than “Auto” or “Program,” and basic proficiency in post-capture image editing software such as Lightroom, Photoshop or Snapseed.

PHYSICAL DIFFICULTY

For the majority of the week, you’ll be photographing near the road.  There may be some brief, short hiking in some locations (all under a quarter mile in length with a gentle grade).  You’ll be at high elevations (7,000-9,000 feet), however, so a short hike can quickly leave you out of breath if you haven’t acclimated to the change in altitude yet.  Therefore, it’s important that you take it easy the first few days, are in good physical health, and stay hydrated by drinking lots of water even when you’re not thirsty.

CANCELLATION POLICY

All workshop withdrawal requests must be in writing and received either by US mail or e-mail and acknowledged by Charles Needle Photography. There are NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS POLICY, even for medical or family emergencies. Unless otherwise noted, based on cancellation date, the following apply:

• Greater than 121 days before the workshop start date: refund, minus a $500 administrative fee.

• Within 120 days of the start of the program: no refund.

We strongly encourage you to purchase refundable airline tickets and “cancel for any reason” trip insurance. We recommend trip insurance to protect you in the event of an unexpected situation that prevents you from attending the workshop. We recommend Travel Guard or Travelex Insurance Services. Please be aware some trip insurance companies require that you purchase trip insurance within a certain number of days of paying your deposit and registering for the workshop.

We reserve the right to cancel this workshop if the minimum student enrollment is not met, or due to any COVID-19 or other health concerns. In the event we cancel a workshop, you’ll be notified as soon as possible and be given the option to receive a full refund or apply your payment toward any future workshop or tour within one calendar year from the date of cancellation.  

We are not, however, liable for expenses incurred such as airfare or accommodations, and for this reason we also recommend the purchase of trip insurance. The financial liability of Charles Needle Photography shall be limited to the amount paid to Charles Needle Photography for the tour/workshop only and shall not be extended to cover any other associated travel costs incurred (e.g. non-refundable air tickets, visa fees if applicable, clothing, equipment, miscellaneous transportation costs, lodging costs, medical expenses, travel insurance premiums, etc.).  For this reason, we highly recommend trip cancellation insurance.