This photograph takes me back to one of those moments I know I’ll never forget.

For several days, the weather around Breckenridge just wouldn’t cooperate. Afternoon storms would roll over the mountains and settle in for the evening, taking away any chance of the warm light I was hoping for. I knew this location just outside of Breckenridge was reaching peak color, and I also knew how quickly that could change. One strong storm was all it would take to bring most of those golden leaves to the ground.

Each day that passed made me wonder if I had already missed my opportunity. The aspens were ready, but the weather wasn’t, and there wasn’t anything I could do except wait and hope everything would hold on just a little longer.

Then finally, after several days of storms, I saw a break in the weather. It wasn’t going to last long, but there was enough clearing to give me a small window of evening sunlight. I quickly loaded up my camera gear, and my wife and I headed toward the mountains.

When we arrived, everything I had been waiting for was there.

The sun was sitting just above the mountains of the Tenmile Range, sending this incredible golden light through the aspens. The entire hillside seemed to glow. Every so often, a cool mountain breeze would move through the trees, sending a few golden leaves drifting slowly to the ground around us.

After spending days worrying that I might miss this scene altogether, suddenly taking the photograph almost became secondary. My wife and I spent that last hour of daylight simply hanging out among the aspens, watching the light change and enjoying a moment we knew wouldn’t last.

And it didn’t.

Just two days after I captured this photograph, a large storm moved through the area, bringing fresh snow and stripping most of the remaining leaves from the trees.

Looking back, that is what makes this photograph so meaningful to me. I had gone there hoping to capture peak fall color, but what I came away with was a reminder of why I keep chasing these moments. Sometimes you wait through days of bad weather, wonder if you’ve missed your chance, and have no control over what nature is going to give you.

And then, every once in a while, everything comes together for one unforgettable hour.