The thrusting branches of sage that fill the foreground of this image seem to salute this scorched tree, which stubbornly refuses to fall. The sun dramatically splashes the incongruously white and black tree, just as it does to the massive rock that fills the background of the image. I rarely center my subjects, because centered subjects usually make for static images. This tree, however, demands center stage. In spite of death and disfigurement, its branches, which seem to echo the antlers of a deer or elk, soar over the scene in triumph.