Landscape Photography

I shot this sunrise in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park from the balcony of my third-floor room in The View hotel. This elevated view gave me a nice angle to shoot the sunrise that morning because the sun was directly behind Merrick Butte. I can't explain the visual dynamics but this view made it look as though Merrick Butte was ablaze on its flat-top surface, while also making it seems as though the entire area was on fire. I shot this image hand-held using my Canon 70D with a Canon 18-55 mm lens at 40 mm, f/8, 1/100 seconds, and ISO-500. Processing involved adjustments to brightness, contrast, shadows as well as dehaze and noise reduction. The next morning, I took photos from the same place under similar conditions but the "flame" did not appear (though I did get some good shots of "star bursts" and a light beacon shooting straight up, which I use for my website logo). I can only assume I was at the right spot at the right time for this once-in-a-lifetime shot.