Several years ago, at the beginning of October, I went scouting for images in the famous Mont Tremblant National Park, looking specifically for autumn colors. This well-known region is a two-hour drive north of Montreal.

As this area is of higher altitude than Montreal, I was unsure of the foliage status. Fall colors start in late September and reach a peak in mid-October but are affected by temperature, rainfall and wind.

Approaching the lake shoreline, I was struck by the softness background colors. The reflection on the lake amplified the effect. There were lines in the clouds leading to the background. In order to increase the contrast, I installed an ND filter and took a 20-second exposure. Using my live time feature on my camera I knew I would have a perfect histogram (ETR).