18th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
The Last Leaf To Fall

My family and I were staying over at a cabin at Slide Lake in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and decided to get up early and go for an adventure around the lake. Everything was beautifully frosted over, the lake was topped with a layer of fog, and the sun was slowly peaking over the surrounding mountains. While on our walk, I spotted this brightly colored leaf in the middle of other dried up plant matter and immediately had to capture a photo of it. It was almost mysterious: Why is there this singular beautiful leaf amidst these wilted plants? Was this a good luck sign? I will never know, but out of all the amazing photos I was able to capture throughout Wyoming, this one has got to be one of my favorites.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 10.2019
Date Uploaded: 11.2020
Photo Location: Jackson Hole, Wyoming, United States of America
Camera: NIKON D3100
Copyright: © Leigha Giranda