Crucifix Cactus

Crucifix Cactus – Catalina Mountains foothills, Tucson, Arizona, USA

While hiking in the Catalina foothills, this saguaro cactus skeleton stopped me dead in my tracks. Now I’m not a guy who’s prone to seeing Virgin Mary’s weeping tears of blood or anything like that, but in the late afternoon light I could distinctly make out a crucifix. Any Christian man would have dropped to his knees and prayed, however I opted to capture the scene on Kodak Ektachrome 100 transparency film. Was I thinking of creating fine art photography at the time? No, not really. It was more like; Geez, if I don’t get a picture of this, no one will ever believe me.

Before leaving, I did take a moment to raise my head to the sky and reverently say, “Thank you for putting me here during the golden hour.”

Nikon N90S SLR, AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D, Manfrotto 3221 tripod with Manfrotto 3265 pistol grip ball head, exposure not recorded.

Tags: Arizona, Catalina foothills, desert, fine art, O. Bisogno Scotti, photographers, photography, photos, Sonora Desert, Tucson

19 thoughts on “Crucifix Cactus”

nonoymanga on April 2, 2012 at 12:11 am said:

Very nice subject. Thanks for sharing Nonoy Manga

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- Bisogno Scotti on April 2, 2012 at 7:03 am said:
  
  Thanks Nonoy. Sharing is what blogging is all about.
  
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EvilPoet on April 2, 2012 at 7:04 am said:

A picture is worth a thousand words! 😀

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- Bisogno Scotti on April 2, 2012 at 8:09 am said:
  
  How true!
  
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Bisogno Scotti on April 2, 2012 at 7:14 am said:

Thank you for liking my photograph James.

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Bisogno Scotti on April 2, 2012 at 7:17 am said:

Thanks for the like Jackie!

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Natures' Child on April 2, 2012 at 7:32 am said:

Nice time of year to produce this. This is special because of this photo it will live on even though physically it had died you have captured its essence. Colour for everything but the main subject and it is in b&w. And for me that makes it stand out! Did you see a live one on your trek?

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- Bisogno Scotti on April 2, 2012 at 8:41 am said:
  
  Timing is everything. I’ve been holding back on this one for a special occasion such as Easter.
  
  The whole image is in color. Saguaro skeletons bleach in the sun turning light gray in color (or lack of color) similar to driftwood. If you click on view larger you will see reflections of color from the desert floor on the saguaro skeleton.
  
  There are thousands of live saguaro cacti surrounding the Catalina Mountains See one here.
  
  fact: The saguaro cactus lives 60 years before it begins to grow arms. For more info see the Saguaro Cactus Fact Sheet.
  
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Bisogno Scotti on April 2, 2012 at 9:18 am said:

Artbibel. Thanks for liking my photograph.

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Bisogno Scotti on April 2, 2012 at 9:35 am said:

Ziiplight. Thanks for liking. Nice to meet you.

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Bisogno Scotti on April 2, 2012 at 9:37 am said:

Thanks for liking my image Sunny!

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Bisogno Scotti on April 2, 2012 at 9:41 am said:

Joshi. Thanks for liking my photograph.

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Bisogno Scotti on April 2, 2012 at 9:43 am said:

Ribal. Thanks for liking!

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Bisogno Scotti on April 2, 2012 at 9:45 am said:

manojuchila. Thanks again!

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Bisogno Scotti on April 9, 2012 at 1:08 am said:

golappan. Thanks for liking this photo.

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Bisogno Scotti on April 9, 2012 at 10:44 am said:

Kodak Kerouacs. Thanks for liking!

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Swamitra Singh on August 27, 2012 at 7:44 am said:

Rare Picture. Never seen this.

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- O. Bisogno Scotti on August 27, 2012 at 8:01 am said:
  
  Thanks for commenting Swamitra. I have only seen it once…and this is it!
  
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O. Bisogno Scotti on January 20, 2013 at 10:40 pm said:

Hi iltana. Thanks for liking “Crucifix Cactus”

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