Art and Creativity — Nature as Art: Spiny Things in Close-Up!

Most of the time, we tend to not give deserts much of a second look.

If we come from a place that tends to be lush and green, the desert can look a bit lifeless. But deserts are far from lifeless!

We periodically visit the high desert area around Joshua Tree in California, and I love photographing the local plants and wildlife, because they are so different from where we live in the wet Pacific Northwest.

You might wonder what kind of alien landscape that is, but it is just the spines of a particular type of cactus, in extreme close-up.

Not the tiny "ridges" on each spine; each perhaps representing a growth season. Some of these plants are 100's of years old!

Wouldn't want to accidentally fall into that!

Desert plants are so well-protected to keep animals from eating them to get to the watery parts inside. In the desert, everything is a contest for water.

The blooms are extremely well-protected, as well!

I chose to show them in black and white because it made the images look more dramatic.

Thanks for stopping by and having a look!

Thanks for looking!

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