Many travel photographers enjoy making images of the moon for its own sake, but such images are usually more closely related to astronomy than to expressive travel photography. Our task as expressive travel photographers is primarily to define the essence of where we are – how it feels, and what it might mean. If a rising moon can become part of that story, as it is in this image, all the better. This image is really about the tree-covered foothills of Mount Shasta. The moon adds dramatic atmosphere – its circle replicating the curves of the hills below. The reflected sunset lends its warmth to the image and underscores the texture of the pines that fill the foreground.