I really didn’t want to leave my warm bed to drive down the mountain in the frosty early November air but was determined to capture the magic of “civil” twilight – that few minutes before sunrise that photographers are obsessed with – at Lake Petit on my last morning in the North Georgia mountains. I wanted classic pink-gold light coupled with dramatic cloud formations for my own iconic fall image of lake, mountains and sky. Alas, a cloudless sky and a short twilight cheated me of that shot. Heading back to the car, I noticed a small maple tree, its newly-turned leaves glowing warmly against the soft blue-green of the lake below me, and realized all the magic I needed was right here in front of me. [Intentional camera movement, double exposure].