Straight on Till Morning — Loose Print

I've been trying to make this photograph since I found this quiet rim seven years ago. I've returned eight times and watched the light slip away—wind, haze, clouds closing at the wrong moment. A few months ago it finally broke my way. Just before dawn the sky ignited: gold at the horizon, deep pink above. The light ran down the canyon like a fuse—catching the river, warming the cliffs, and setting the boulders at my feet aglow—until the whole scene lit up at once. That was the moment I'd been chasing.