We had spent the night in a motel in Winnemucca. In the morning I noticed from the bathroom window a rising plume of steam in the distance. Tracking it down, I came to this small reed lined geothermal vent. It's starkness and mist gave it a mythic air. I took the shot, but in the studio saw it lacked something. Enter the geese, from a previous shot - a winter frozen Denver lake. The element of birds heightened the mythic quality and made it all work. Also, I added a eerie mirroring of the tree branches to deepen this surreal quality.