Time
My wife and I pre-planned a visit to Colorado one year in advance in hopes of capturing majestic scenes with autumn color. Upon our arrival we were not disappointed. As is the drill, about a third of the leaves were gone, a third were at peak, and a third were still green. That is perfect timing in my opinion. We hiked around the area for several days under gloomy, rainy, and snowy skies. Then on this day the sun peaked out as I meandered up a precarious hillside, just difficult enough my wife remained behind. I wandered solo along this boulder field looking for a mixture of both yellow and orange/red aspen leaves. As I peered through the viewfinder, I was elated to come across this scene. I took a single exposure, knowing this would be the keeper. And it was just in time, as that night a wind storm swept the area, cleaning these particular trees of most of their fall foliage.