Cumberland Falls, perhaps two hundred yards upstream from where this image was made, is a popular tourist attraction in southern Kentucky. It's a picturesque waterfall -- actually, a whole bunch of waterfalls. The Cumberland River spreads out across undulating rocks and creates hundreds of small cataracts that together make a wonderful symphony of sounds, even when the flow subsides in the autumn. I had considered photographing it, but there were other people around and, for some reason, I felt compelled to explore the gorge below the falls, where I found this image.

And that's the way it often goes. Rather than focusing solely on the "obvious" shot, it's good to keep your eyes, mind and heart open to discover other possibilities. Very often, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Here, the light, weather, forms, surfaces and colors combined to create a certain magic. This was just a place with no name, but it was every bit as spectacular, to my eyes, as the falls. There was music to be found in the visual harmonies.