The Saguaro and the Night
© 2019 RGallucci Photography

Life in the southern Arizona high desert is spectacularly beautiful and unquestionably tough. Just ask this mighty Saguaro. At over fifty feet tall, this monster of the desert has a not to subtle message for the world - enter of your own will or F off.

As if to reinforce the point, I left this early morning shoot with a two-inch prickly pear thorn embedded in my calf. But it was worth it!

This is the time of year when the Milky Way is visible in the earliest of mornings hours. Today it emerged from the somnolent horizon at an unfathomable 3 am. Standing in the cold, we dutifully shot our images and solved the problems of the world. But then at around 5:30 something magic happened.

At night gave way to the earliest twilight, the mystical purple light of Arizona's sunrise began to creep into the images. Meanwhile, the Milky Way held off from disappearing into the lights fire as if to gain a small glimpse of the news days miracle. It is the first time I have captured this glittering cusp. The ever revealing beauty of creation humbles me.

I remain His scribe

The Saguaro and the Night
©RGallucci Photography
www.rgallucci.com
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Canon 5D Mark IV
Irix 15mm Len
20 frames at 10 sec at f2.8, ISO 3200
Stacked in Starry Landscape Stacker
Planned with PhotoPills
Foreground lighting: 2x Newer CN -160 LED


Shoot Date: February 26, 2020
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
9.7 sec at f/2.8 Bias:0 EV
ISO: ISO 3200
Lens:15mm @ 15 mm