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Steamboat Springs — Asking veteran Yampa Valley photographers Larry Pierce and Jim Steinberg to pick a favorite spot from which to photograph fall foliage is like asking a mother to pick a favorite child.

"Only a couple of hundred," Steinberg quipped when asked whether he's got a special place.

Both agreed: when the aspens of Colorado turn from green to yellow and orange, it's hard to go wrong, and as nature's fireworks fill the landscape through the next two weeks, there will be plenty of opportunities to take in breath-taking views and snap some eye-popping photos.

What to look for

The key is contrast. Most great fall foliage photos are less yellow-on-yellow-on-yellow and more white tree bark standing out sharply against fiery orange and yellow leaves that pop flagrantly against a bold blue sky.

"You want that vibrant color," Steinberg said. "Down in the understory, you have ferns and grasses that have dried out and frozen and in the middle you have things like berries that are still out there. Then on top you have all the great color of the leaves."

That contrast can be spread across the valley in a great wide-angle shot from high on a nearby mountain, it can be the radiant yellow straight up of the leafy aspen roof lit by the sun and splayed against the sky, or it can be a few still-fresh berries, ripe and colorful against the rusty forest floor.

"It's also a great time of year to do macro work," Steinberg said, referring to tight detail shots of small items. "You can find everything from leaf formations to berries, or once we get some cold mornings, frost on the ground and on all the plants."

Of course a tight shot of a bunch of yellow leaves - with little or no great changes in contrast - can be captivating, as well.

Pierce said that's symbolic of his favorite part about the fall season: It's simply hard to go wrong.

"If you want to talk about when to shoot, any time of day is fine," he said. "Mornings are great with low light. Evenings are better with low but warmer light. But you can shoot all day depending on what you're after."

When to be where

There's no shortage of places to find worthy views.

As for the best places to look, nearly anywhere will work, Pierce said, but he does have a few regular spots.

Rabbit Ears and Buffalo passes have plentiful aspen trees ready to turn and are perhaps 10 days or two weeks away from their peak.

Pierce also recommended the Dunckley Pass area near Yampa and the rest of the Flat Tops area. Everything west of Yampa near Stillwater Reservoir was in the process of turning yellow Friday.

Steinberg, meanwhile, suggested the Flat Tops trail, a road that extends west from Yampa on Routt County Road 17, traveling 82 miles through the forest to Meeker.

"That's great for people who just want to pull off the side of the road and don't want the crowds of Buff Pass on a Sunday," he said. "They don't even have to go all the way. They can just go to Ripple Creek Pass, picnic there and come back. That's still a really sweet day."