I made this photograph during a slow December morning while camping in the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park. As the sun rose, narrow bands of light began tracing the volcanic rhyolite ridges, separating their shapes from the cool shadows and morning haze.

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The Chisos are the remnants of volcanic activity that occurred between 38 and 32 million years ago. They are also the only mountain range located entirely within a national park.

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Rising above the surrounding Chihuahuan Desert, the Chisos offer cooler temperatures and more sheltered habitat than the desert floor below. They are a refuge for wildlife and for people seeking relief from the heat and exposure of the extreme heat and harshness of the open desert.

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What I was drawn to was the contrast between the ruggedness of the Chisos Mountains and the softness of the light. I loved the way the light played across the different shapes and forms created through millions of years of geologic forces. I could feel the sense of this place being a dry desert oasis; a sanctuary in the unforgiving West Texas landscape.

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As a print, it brings that sense of refuge and peace into a room, along with the slow morning ease and sense of renewal that one feels waking up in the mountains to soft morning light.