On October 23, 2022, I went scouting for images in the Eastern Townships with my friend Wendy, who knows the region very well. This area is a two-hour drive southeast of Montreal. We knew we were too late in the season to catch the vivid autumn colours.

Driving to Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, she recognized this gorgeous valley and asked me to park the car on the side of the road.

Having problems with my tripod, I shot handheld, using a 128 mm (35 mm eq) focal length to compose the picture. As expected, the red color has disappeared, replaced by greys and browns. I was drawn by the complexity and the many elements in the valley: farmland, forest and mountains, the vastness, the contrasts, the textures and various forms and colours. The yellow in the foreground and the blueish mountain in the background served as my delimiters to frame the scene. I was pleased to see a lot of gold and yellow trees in the scene. I overexposed by a full stop to have a perfect histogram (ETTR).

Next year, I will have to return with my friend earlier in the season.