This is a retrospective diary of the day I created my print “Ocotillo Sunset.” You can see a large version of “Ocotillo Sunset” by clicking on any of my blog photographs.
Shooting as the World Turns
In Part 5, we enter the final phase of this day’s work with darkening of the land while in the sky sunlight reflects off high clouds. The length of this moment when twilight is over, just before night falls, varies with latitude and time of year. Near the poles (high latitude) this light can last for days while here, at about 32 degrees north, it is less than 15 minutes. As I wrote in Part 4, after this light, the desert is absolutely dark. This is why I chose to set up by the roadside.
In the following two photographs I experimented with camera placement and foreground elements. Starting in Part 4 I became aware of Ocotillo branches, using them for the effect of reaching for and, here, anchoring the clouds.
Click photograph to view Ocotillo Sunset in my Online Gallery
Lead Around by an Ocotillo
These earth-bound Ocotillo branches lead me to the darkened earth. How much to include in the shot? I searched for a balance between the vastness and complete blackness and needed a point of interest. Time was running out.
Click photograph to view Ocotillo Sunset in my Online Gallery
Click me for the next post in this series.
Click me for the first post in this series.
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 
Wonderful result.
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Thank You, Peggy. The final result is in the next, and final, installment.
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The appeal to you of silhouetted ocotillo against a colorful sunset is easy to understand. I did the same thing in a different national park. Must be because we share a name (even if spelled differently) and a gray beard.
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Ocotillo is a strange, wonderful, useful plant. Do not know if unique can be added to the list.
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