This is one of the very first “inspirational” pictures that I ever photographed and became the starting point for what would eventually become “Visual Forces”. When I saw this scene, it opened my eyes to what I should be doing with a camera. It features a lone tree in the shape of a cross with the sun setting behind a distant mountain. The sky happened to pop with incredible color that evening as I started firing my shutter. Sadly, this tree is no longer on the hill and so this photo can never be reproduced. Sometimes God gives us only one chance to do something and if we pass it up we will never again have that same opportunity. Whether you’re photographing a tree on a hill, accepting a job, singing karaoke for the first time, or saying “yes”…go into it knowing that opportunity may never come again.

The Heart of The Cross
I didn’t notice this immediately when I first printed this image, but after a few months (maybe even a year) someone pointed this out to me. On the top-right branch that is stretched out the farthest, there is a perfectly formed heart on one of the limbs! You can draw your own symbolism, but I thought this was rather amazing.