I wish I could say that I spend 3 days in the same spot waiting for that “exact right moment”. The reality I find more typical is a 2-week vacation jam-packed with many places to visit. Although I’m photographing that entire time, I rarely have the luxury of many days in a single spot.

Case in point…I had planned an autumn day in mid-October out photographing. But this was a year where the fall colors were 3 weeks late. Instead, I had time for a 90-minute outing at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. Driving in very long lines through the beautiful settings, I bolted from my vehicle to take what amounted to snapshots. I refused to miss the rich autumn colors that had made me miss my day out in the woods.

Ultimately, the experience was rewarding because I found numerous visually inspiring scenes in that short time and was reminded that how we see the world is more important than how much time we have to see it.