Winter glow

After work yesterday I saw the clouds developing to the east and decided to head out. I wanted to explore someplace new, but not too far, so I figured I would drive up to the four peaks area and see how much snow fell on them. When I got there the tops of the peaks were cloud covered, so I drove around to various spots, got out and wandered, got back in the car and drove some more until the clouds started to lift. I finally found a spot with a clear view, and no obstruction of the mountains. I picked a clear spot to come back to and wandered around some more. With that said, I may have a new favorite location. There were prickly pear cactus as far as one could see with weavers needle and the superstition mountains just on the horizon (which had some snow as well). As it got darker I trotted back to my spot after photographing and dodging multiple sharp plants. I was hoping the sky would explode with color, but it really didn't (or I'm going colorblind). I stuck around anyways knowing something had to happen. Sure enough, with the sun just retreating behind the horizon this nice subtle alpenglow began to show on the peaks themselves. It was nice to use the longer lens for this one as I neglect it too often. I am working on a pano version without the bottom portion, but left it in this one to hear your thoughts if it adds or detracts from the scene.

Canon 7d
Canon 70-200 f4 @126mm
f/16
ISO 100
1/2 sec
Tripod