My interest in photography started early — growing up, I spent a lot of time poring over National Geographic and Life magazines — but it wasn’t until I decided to take a photography course that I realized I really was a photographer who happened to be walking around without a camera. I later moved into photojournalism so I could document and tell stories, particularly about life along Arizona’s border with Mexico.
My fondness for Southern Arizona’s borderlands endures, but the current focus of my work is scenic photography. I enjoy spending time on back roads and trails, often in grasslands or my beloved Santa Rita Mountains. Things don’t always go as planned on these shoots, and that was the case when I made this photo.
On December 21, 2020, I headed out to Ironwood Forest National Monument, northwest of Tucson, to photograph that year’s great conjunction — the term for when the planets Jupiter and Saturn appear closest together in the night sky. A great conjunction occurs roughly every 20 years, but for the 2020 event, the two planets would be the closest they’d been since 1623, so there was plenty of anticipation among photographers and astronomers.
The sun was setting, and I was gazing at the sky in anticipation of this rare event. Then, a conjunction of greater relevance to me appeared: the coming together of the setting sun, Ragged Top (a well-known volcanic plug) and one of my favorite saguaro cactuses. Typically, I visit Ironwood Forest during the summer monsoon, and at that time of year, the sun sets in a different location. It was a surprise birthday gift, as I’m a winter solstice kid, so I focused on the sunset shot and was able to make this image.
Sometimes, you get something better than what you’d imagined. Maybe I’ll catch the next great conjunction in 2040.