Autumnal Mirror

Captured at the Iron Furnace in Southern Illinois, near the Garden of the Gods—a land shaped by an ancient, dormant volcano. The mountains rise like guardians, but it’s the waterways that tell the deeper story, carrying minerals born from fire: obsidian, fluorite, quartz, and iron. This creek ran right beside the furnace, and I couldn’t resist wading into its flow to capture the moment from within.