Inspired by Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Weston, Sommer took up large-format photography in 1938. Tilting his camera downward and eliminating the horizon line, the artist filled this frame with visual information. His composition emphasizes the abstract qualities of line and texture within the landscape along the Colorado River, which is itself barely discernible beyond the foreground bluffs. The photograph has the potential to momentarily disorient a viewer searching for a recognizable subject.