Kevin and I have been going to Joshua Tree for years! I found out about the park from one of my photography classes in college and a bunch of us had a full day of photographing there. Our professor used to take us so many places to photograph from morning to night, teaching us what to look out for when shooting landscapes.
Since I love to hike with the hubby, camera in hand… I notice this beautiful Joshua Tree (conveniently sharing the name of the park) as we were out photographing sunsets. They only grow in the Mohave Desert (which I found out later). The Joshua Tree had a baby tree next to it. I thought to myself, what a beautiful story! Mommy standing tall, beautiful and tough with its baby below. So I set up my tripod and camera before sunset and just hung out knowing that the clouds were going to pop.
The dark blues and violets of the gold-flecked evening sky set the mood against the spikes and prickles of the desert.
Our professor showed us what to look out for when it comes to colorful sunset shots. As the colors began to appear, I started snapping away, making some bracketed exposures, but what I didn’t know is that all of a sudden the sky began to open like the waters opened for Noah (a story in the bible). The Family of Joshua trees had an opening to God. Being a mother and knowing about the love you have for your children, I was drawn to this beautiful tree of life and then I thought of the afterlife…. hoping that I will always be with family and friends and my children forever…
If this is not to be, at least for now I can enjoy this photograph to remind me to be strong and tall for my family!
You can purchase this image here. Feel free to contact me and share with me your purchase. I’ll send you a thank you gift to remind you of this story and why I took the shot. 🙂
Cheers,
Janice Sullivan
