Postcard from Tucson

Yes…it’s that time. Cactus flowers are springing up all over the Sonoran Desert. Spring here is like no other in the world. All the plants you associate with Spring are in full bloom also, just like where you live. But, cactus flowers always come a little bit later. Almost every day I like to take a walk in the desert (on a paved walkway to avoid rattlers and scorpions) and right now flowers from every kind of cactus imaginable line both sides of the trail.

This flower is from the king of all cactus…the Saguaro. This particular cactus, is an old one as it has a couple of large arms. Remember, the Saguaro don’t start growing arms until it is about 100 years old. Behind this flower, you can see bulbs that will soon open to reveal their flowers. You can always count on lots of flowers from older Saguaros.

The only problem for the photographer is almost all Saguaro flowers grow on top of the main branch or the arms. And these cactus can get pretty tall…much taller than me! I got lucky with this particular one as there was a mound in front of it and, with the help of a long lens, I was able to get eye-level with the flower.

Out where I live in the western foothills above Tucson, the Saguaro are as thick as thieves. There are hundreds of them on each hill around my place. The Saguaro Cactus National Park is only a few miles from here. So I have my pick of cactus to shoot. All I need is a little natural elevation to photograph the flowers face-to-face.

Although you may have seen Saguaro Cactus in John Wayne westerns, supposedly based in Texas, they really only grow in this area and further south in Mexico. PS: for your information, many of those John Wayne films were shot just a few miles from here at the Old Tucson Movie Studios. So, if you see any movie with Saguaros, you know they were shot here.  

Come down in April sometime and see these beauties for yourself.

(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.