If nature were to build its cathedral, it would probably look something like this. A picture inside of a forest is very difficult to make because of nature’s natural clutter. However in this case, I was able to use light to organize this forest of Aspen trees into a coherent landscape photograph. The sun guilds the floor of the forest and brilliantly illuminates the yellow and orange Aspen leaves up top, providing both a “floor” and “ceiling” for this natural cathedral. I also make use of the tent-shape shadow in the background, gradually tapering to a peak at the center. This peak crowns a single pair of Aspens in the back of the picture that pulls the eye right into and then through the image. The angle of the sun creates “rim” lighting on many of the trees, giving them a delicate glow. There is even very soft light deep in the forest, reflecting on hundreds of tiny leaves that twinkle like a band of distant fireflies. The rhythmic repetition of tree trunks draws our eyes across the forest, just as the light and shadow pulls them into it. I used my Leica Digilux 2 for this image because of the remarkable ability of its Summicron Lens to interpret light and resolve detail. All of these factors work together to help me express the very nature of nature, but it is light that holds the keys to its success as a landscape photograph.