"Sonoran Garden"
Near Ajo, AZ
In this striking backlit image, the morning sun has just risen above the ridge behind these cacti. Knowing that film “sees” a narrower range of light than the human eye, I metered to capture the detail in the cactus shadows, expecting the shaded ridge would appear dark. This provides the background contrast for the highlighted “halo” effect of the backlit thorns, which glow as they reflect the sunlight toward the camera.