Artists often refer to "saturated colors." In this case, not only were the colors saturated, but so was everything else -- it had just been raining. And there's a relationship between the two senses of the word: when leaves and bark and grass are wet, their colors appear to be more saturated. When natural materials are dry, microscopic irregularities (textures) on their surfaces reflect (scatter) ambient light from all directions, thereby making their colors appear washed out or chalky. When these same surfaces are wet, however, the water smoothes out the surface texture, allowing the color to shine forth in its full glory.

Although this was a chilly, drizzly day, I wore a waterproof jacket and pants and a down vest, and hiked up the valley below the Maroon Bells near Aspen, Colorado. My camera and lenses were safe in the backpack. After an hour or so, the rain stopped just long enough for me to get this image and #9273.