When shooting landscapes, I look not for a subject, but instead for light that defines a subject. Such was the case here. I saw how the early morning light defined the isolation of this lone Cottonwood tree, and how it gave a sense of scale to vast cliffs that line the valley of Zion Canyon along the route of the Virgin River. I lowered the top edge to remove the top of the cliffs, making them seem to go on forever. The light not only illuminates the delicate branches and leaves of the Cottonwood tree from behind, but it also abstracts the canyon walls, turning them all black, except for one wall that slashes into the valley at a right angle. And that wall plays counterpoint to this tree – two forms of nature, one alive, the other eternal.