Most dawn landscapes stress the delicate early morning light as it falls on the primary subject. In this image, I go against that principle here – using the dawn light as context for a subject still very much in shadow. The distinctive arrowhead shape of Manley Beacon is still shrouded in darkness. As the most prominent feature of Death Valley’s famous Zabriskie Point overlook, it forms the base layer of my image. Its vast shadow is the secondary layer. The distant Amargosa Mountains, aflame in the dawn light, form the background layer of this landscape. The image is about the gradual arrival of the morning sun, tempting the imagination of the viewer to visualize what Manley Beacon will look like when it becomes ablaze with light.