As we traveled through south central Idaho, the weather turned on us – it began as light rain, then turned to snow showers and sleet. Suddenly, the sun broke through the layer of heavy overcast clouds, illuminating a swath of spring green on the distant hills. We pulled off the road, stumbled into the weeds at our feet, and began to photograph the light as it created five different areas of intensity before our eyes. Using a 120mm focal length, I held my camera vertically to stress these differences. The weeds at my feet take on a muted gold coloration. The clouds create a shadowy dark green band in the middle of the frame, while at the same instant, the sun grazes a field of glowing earth in the middle distance. The dark hills at the back of the scene create a portal for the focal point of the image – the glowing emerald valley just below the descending curtain of gray clouds at the top of the frame. Sometime, changing weather conditions can be a catalyst for expression –- that is the case here.