In the spring of 2000, I took an extended field trip to photograph the canyons of southern Utah and surrounding areas. Little did I know, before I left, that this was to be one of the hottest springs in that area in recent memory. One evening, around sunset, as I was pitching my tent on the shore of Lake Powell, my thermometer read 112 degrees.

Now, I don't cope very well with heat, but that's the way it was, day after day, until I gave in and headed for higher elevations. One such place was the La Sal Mountains in southeast Utah, at about 9000 feet. That evening, while a storm blew through the campground, I hunkered down in my tent. As soon as the rain stopped, and while the trees were still dripping, I ventured out to see what was happening, knowing that some of the most interesting atmospheric conditions occur immediately before and after storms. As it happened, the sun was about to set and, as the storm clouds departed and deep blue sky appeared overhead, a most brilliant golden beam of light illuminated the mountainside above me. There was barely enough time to get the camera set up and compose an image before the sun slipped below the horizon.