© Jack Dykinga
A band of ancient giants commands the expansive arid landscape of Arizona’s Sonoran Desert National Monument. These emblematic saguaro cacti, up to 200 years old, may tower at more than 12 meters, but are very slow growing, some sprouting upwardly curved branches as they mature. “This one allowed me to get right inside its limbs,” Dykinga said. As the gentle dawn light bathed the saguaro’s contorted form, his wide angle revealed its furrowed arms, perfectly framing its neighbors before the distant Sand Tank Mountains.
