When I compose a landscape photograph, I prefer, if at all possible, to lead the eye of the viewer through a number of “layers” of light and content – building meaning piece by piece. This is good example of this process. I organize it in three layers – a meadow at the bottom, backed by high trees in the middle and an illuminated surprise at the top. The two mule deer are the subject of the picture, but the meaning goes well beyond just showing two mule deer eating their breakfast. They are abstracted within a band of yellowish autumn grass, perfectly placed well apart from each other, almost as if they are to be bookends for the surprise that awaits us at the top of the frame. The band of dark trees dominating the middle of the picture act as a wall of privacy. It makes it seem as if this meadow is their private preserve. And then light as subject matter makes its entrance as the eye climbs up to still another wall, this one made of rock and covered with glowing yellow and orange autumn trees, which tells us just how enormous this scene must be, as well as what time of year it is. This image, so rich in scale incongruity, is all about nature, nourishment, and a very special time of year.