Seebeck, a Wisconsin native who now resides in the Pacific Northwest, was on a 4-day assignment to document central Arkansas’ burgeoning trail scene. On the evening before his Nebo shoot at dawn, he scouted the location.

“I was just making sure that we’d all be in the right place at the right time. We made sure everyone was ready to go while it was still dark,” Seebeck said. “The longer I do this, the longer I realize I’m not just a photographer—I’m a manager, I’m a coach, I’m a director, all these different things.”

Once on a trail known as the Sunset Point Connector, Seebeck worked quickly to find a focal length that would provide the right amount of compression between foreground and background. He typically favors wide angle lenses but decided to go longer so the background would appear closer. When a telephoto lens proved to be too tight, he settled on a tried-and-true classic—the humble 50-millimeter.

The steep terrain made getting the right line of sight a challenge, so Seebeck found a spot to dig his heels in. From there, the photo, which later would become the obvious standout pick for the Freehub Arkansas Photo Book cover, came together quickly. Backlit by the early morning rays, Brazil and Flores stand out as they roll down the slopes of one of The Natural State’s most prominent geological features.