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Monday, August 24, 2026
By Mike Moats Photography
In about mid-September I start to find the first signs of fall and falling leaves in Southeast Michigan.
The Cottonwood and Large Tooth Aspens are what I look for.
At Stony Creek Metro Park in Shelby Twp, there are two places I find the Large Tooth Aspens, one trail in the nature center and one trail in the mountain biking/hiking trails. They are easy to find as they lay right on the trails.
Here are a few shots of the large Tooth Aspens. I typically take the leaves and make different arrangements with them.
Around the same time in mid-September, I head to a pond at Holland Ponds in Shelby Twp, MI where the edge of the pond has large Cottonwood trees that start to drop their leaves on the pond.
A canal in the Nature Center at Lake St Clair Metro Park in Harrison Twp has large Cottonwood trees lining the edge. Lots of good opportunities there as well.
I use my Tamron 18-400 to reach out and capture these subjects as they are usually a distance away from the edge of the water. Shooting at high stops in the f/22 to f/32 to get everything in focus.
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