A Typical Desert Scene

As a landscape photographer, one of the things you’ll find yourself doing a lot is waiting.

Once you find your perfect location, you must wait for the light to be just right. While you’re waiting, take a good look around. The light might not be perfect on the scene you’ve planned, but it might be perfect just behind you.

On the evening I was waiting for the last light on a Saguaro Cactus, I turned and looked behind me and saw this typical desert scene. There’s nothing particularly unique about it. Just a Chain Fruit Cholla and a bunch of scrubby brush (that’s my name for all the miscellaneous shrubs like creosote bush and brittle bush). But what was special was the light.

It’s always about the light.

Even when the subject might be considered boring, the light can make the most ordinary scene become beautiful.

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