I was very fortunate to be up on deck shooting as the sun broke through heavy morning clouds during our approach to this tiny Siberian island just off the coast of the Chukotka peninsula. I had never seen a mountainous landscape illuminated as selectively as this one was. Siberia is one of the harshest lands on earth, yet the fleeting early morning light had turned this rugged, remote island into a place of great beauty. The sea itself becomes a black, abstracted base for the scene -- the barren mountains are splashed with streaks of gold, while heavy clouds roll by overhead tinged in purple, yellow, and gray. My ISO setting of 400 provides a subtle texture to complement the nature of the landscape.