By Scott Shephard

I could tell you that I came to this spot for days and waited for the perfect light and sky. But that wouldn't be true. In fact, I came to this general area to photograph the rocks and landscape at sunrise. But as I drove along the road and came out into the open from the forest, this is what I noticed. I was alone but I do believe I said, "Whoaa!"

This light lasted for a couple minutes and then was gone. That means that if I had arrived a minute or two early or late, I wouldn't have had this to photograph. But I had my camera ready so I guess I chalk this up to "fortune favoring the prepared mind."

This ridge, incidentally, was victim of the Battle Creek fire of 2002, which burned close to 14,000 acres. It's sad to think that the forest may take a century to regenerate but the landscape the fire left behind is strangely photogenic.

These trees are survivors of that fire - that's why you see branches on the top but not on the bottom. The fire tried to consume them but they resisted.

Canon 5DIII 1/60s f/8.0 ISO400 168mm