Mesa Arch, Canyonlands - UTAH This location is truly a spectacle to be behold. No Photoshop. No manipulation. Follow @DestinSparks for more

Phase One IQ3 100MP, RRS Tripod, Singh Ray ND Grad.

Photo Settings: 45mm, f/22, 1/2 second, ISO 50.

Although there is certainly a poetry to the world when it's alive and full of people, there is simply nothing that can possibly compare to that same world when no one else is around. It is stripped of the extraneous energy and second hand emotion that occurs when you're lost in a crowd (even if that crowd is small). You're seeing it raw… bare. It's an otherworldly experience to say the least.

Now add sunrise to the mix. That's the time when the earth itself wakes up. Shades of understated grey give way to hues of lilac, violet, and lemon that simply don't exist later in the day. It is the visual equivalent of listening to an orchestra tuning up just before the performance of a lifetime.

This shot features a private boathouse along the main river of Perth. (If you've visited the area, you may know it well!)

At sunrise on this crisp winter morning, it appeared wise… knowing. A loan witness to this beautiful world at this extraordinary time of day, there at the end of that simple, weathered pier.

Camera: GX617; Film: Velvia 50 Slide; Scan: Heidelberg Tango; Post-processing: None.