For a change of pace, I decided to venture out and photograph in the midday sun on a nearly cloudless day. This is something I rarely do for photographing plants, unless required by circumstance. As you can tell from these photographs, taking pictures at this time of day can lead to oversaturated colours and blown highlights or shadows. However, I'd argue it's acceptable to ignore conventional wisdom when attempting to photograph evocative bright autumn colours.

The epithet scopulina means “growing in rocky places” (see Botanical Latin at Calflora.net). Considering this mountain ash is native to western North America from Alaska to California, and more specifically, the Western or Pacific Cordillera, its association with rocks seems fitting. A few common names are bandied about: Greene's mountain ash, western mountain ash and sometimes Cascade mountain ash, though this is more often associated with the variety cascadensis.

For more images, see the comprehensive set of photographs of Sorbus scopulina at the Burke Museum of Natural History. Also, thanks to the Plants for a Future database entry on this mountain-ash, I've learned a new word: bletted, regarding the edibility of the fruit for this rose and apple relative.

Art resource link: “Taste For Makers”, an article by Paul Graham on beauty, good design and taste.