Joshua Tree National Park, California. Part I

"A good photograph is knowing where to stand."
-Ansel Adams


Located north of Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park lies within both the Mojave and Colorado Deserts, much of it sitting atop a large rocky plateau at an elevation of up to 5,000 feet. The eastern edge of the park slopes down to 3,000 feet and below into what is part of the Colorado Desert.

Known for its boulder-strewn beauty, it is also internationally known as a rock climbers paradise. Named after the plant that is endemic to the region, its elevation is high enough that periods of snow can blanket the plateau during especially cold weather fronts.

Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) are not actual trees, but giant herbaceous yuccas belonging to the lily family. One can find some especially large specimens growing in the park.

This specimen is one of the larger  Joshua trees I came across in the park. Yours Truly posing beneath.

Flowering bunch of Joshua tree flowers. Individual flowers growing in clusters such as this is normally known as an inflorescence. Judging from the waxy, white flowers and the sweet aroma they release, my guess is that they are pollinated at night by nocturnal moths.

Beautiful and waxy-looking blossoms of the Claret-cup cactus. Quite variable in form and color, this plant can be found growing throughout parts of the American Southwest. Sports wicked looking spines, but are not so menacing and aggressive as those found on the various species of Cholla cactus.

Sunrise at the Cholla Gardens. Growing on a broadly sloping alluvial plain, a veritable forest of Cholla covers many acres here. The best time of day to visit the gardens for a visual spectacle is at sunrise, when its rays light up the spines of the cacti from behind, causing them to glow as if they were plugged in to an A.C. outlet.

I would have missed the photo above were it not for being conscious of the unfolding events surrounding me. There is a wise adage in photography circles regarding being aware of the surroundings one is in. It is natural for a photographer to set up his tripod well before an event takes place such as the backlit Cholla spines, fiddle with composition, tripod height and camera knobs and dials in order to get that perfect shot, and then wait in anticipation for that crowning moment of capture. It's easy to patiently wait there, staring at your subject and be oblivious to what is transpiring around you, missing a gorgeous photo op unfolding somewhere else around your vicinity.

I learned this lesson when photographing Horsetail Fall in Yosemite a few years back. I set up with some other photographers, waiting for the Horsetail Fall phenomenon that happens in February to manifest itself. Intently focused on the fall, we were oblivious to the large moon rising behind us and over Sentinel Peak. Someone mentioned to look behind us at the moonrise. That is when we all grabbed our tripods, reoriented, and proceeded to click off photos of the scene unfolding 180° of the falls. It turned out to be a pleasant shot, but would have been missed if not for the fellow photographer who happened to survey his surroundings and alerted the rest of the group to look behind us.

Cholla Gardens backlit by the rising sun. These things really glow when lit up like that.

The next blog will feature the rest of the Joshua pics. See you then!