In late November, I was photographing in Zion National Park. The canyon is an amazing place to photograph, with beautiful light and color everywhere—especially in autumn. I had stopped to photograph some oak trees on the valley floor and after setting the camera up and looking at the image on the ground glass decided that the image was not going to work out.

So, I looked around me and discovered directly behind me this large boulder which had fallen from the cliff wall many years earlier. The trees had grown up around the boulder and there seemed to be a peaceful sense of balance and cohesiveness to the entire scene.

In printing this image, I strive to convey those feelings of integration and the working and blending together of all the various elements of the scene—the rock, the trees, the ground, the cliff wall in the background—even the light itself!

In many ways, this image symbolizes to me the unity and cohesiveness of life.