I made this image from my back yard, which adjoins the Phoenix Mountains Preserve. Using a 28mm wideangle lens, I stretch a diagonal slash of clouds through a dark blue sky over the silhouettes of the highest mountains in the Valley of the Sun. Using spot metering mode, I exposed on the brightest spot in the image – the sun -- which darkens the rest of the image and brings up the texture and detail within the diagonal slash. The Yucca plants at far left cover the burned out area of the cloud just over the sun -- offering an exploding array of leaves symbolizing a sunburst. The long diagonal binds the image together and creates a sense of tranquility.