Getting up at 2 am to catch the sunrise at the Grand Canyon at a viewpoint I had never even been to during daylight hours to scout out or pre-plan a shot is certainly something I don't do every day! As I was shooting various angles of this scene and the sun rose over the horizon, everything became very dynamic-- the clouds were very airy and soft, moving extremely fast, as it was very windy, and cool, late-summer storms were in the forecast for that morning (drizzle happened within a couple hours); the river, a somewhat ruddy color later during the day, took on a subtle rosy glow reflecting the soft light of daybreak in the sky above; and what really caught my eye was this little skinny tree nestled precariously between the divided rock pillars in the foreground-- before my very eyes, it began to glow between the shadows of the rocks surrounding it, almost becoming its own beacon of light.
Nikon D810, 32mm, ISO 64, f/9, 1/40 second.