Mountain Yucca
by Douglas Taylor
Title
Mountain Yucca
Artist
Douglas Taylor
Medium
Photograph - Digital Light Painting
Description
Using the light through the lens to 'paint' an image with my camera, I created this unique photograph of a tall Sierra Madre Yucca.
High in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson, Arizona the trail crossed a small glade in the scrub oak and manzanita forest where I found happy, healthy and stout Sierra Madre Yuccas (Yucca madrensis) thriving at the top of their range. The Sierra Madre Yucca has a simple or branched trunk up to 9 feet (3 m) tall. The numerous 2 to 3-foot long, stout, flexible leaves are clustered at the ends of the stems, making the plant appear somewhat like a palm though they are part of the Agaveacea family. Flowers are creamy white, borne in a great cloud on the upper half of a stalk up to 5 feet tall, usually in May and June. Sierra Madre Yucca are a very uncommon species, known only to a few isolated mountain ranges in Arizona. They are succulents, and grow mainly above the desert grasslands in forests over 4,500 feet. They are also found in the mountains of northern Mexico. The range extends into the upper margin of Arizona Upland near 6,500 feet in elevation and beyond on select Sky Islands.
The Sky Islands are mountains of the Basin and Range country of Southeastern Arizona. Here on these mountains, surrounded by hot and dry deserts are life zones ranging from grasslands to temperate forests. Even sub-alpine forests can be found with an astonishing variety of species. Some species like the soaptree yuccas can thrive in conditions as harsh as the white gypsum dunes of White Sand Dunes all the way up to the forests of the mountains. Others, like these rare Sierra Madre Yuccas are relics of past populations that now only live in certain life zones on these mountains. Some are not found virtually anywhere else.
CONTEST WINNER: 3rd Place, "This is Abstract Art" contest, sponsored by The Artists Group, April 2024.
Uploaded
January 23rd, 2013
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Comments (37)
Randy Rosenberger 2 Days Ago
Congratulations for having this piece of your artwork from your portfolio chosen to be featured on our homepage of the WFS group. It is worthy of such admiration and I am proud to display your fine art on the homepage of our family of friends and fine artists. Thanks for sharing your talents and beautiful pieces of artwork with our art community.
David Barker 2 Days Ago
Congratulations! Your beautiful artistically enhanced photographic image has been featured on The Artistic Aperture group (04/25/2024) Please consider archiving this in the Featured Image Archive discussion thread
Pat Goltz 2 Days Ago
Absolutely gorgeous semi-abstract! The lines draw me right into the center of the plant.
Allison Griffin 2 Days Ago
Congratulations on your win, Douglas! This is such a unique and appealing image. Great job!
Jenny Revitz Soper 2 Days Ago
Congratulations Douglas! Your artwork tied for THIRD PLACE in the This Is Abstract Art contest sponsored by The Artists Group on April 24, 2024. It is Specially Featured on the group's homepage. Well done! LF fb X Pinned
Steve Rich 2 Days Ago
Your work deserves to be featured in our group "The Meandering Photographer" Please consider adding this work to the "Feature History, The Meandering Photographer (March-April 2024)" active discussion thread. (l/f on 4-24-2024)
Maria Faria Rodrigues 3 Days Ago
Congratulations, on tied 3rd Place Win, in THIS IS ABSTRACT ART, contest!
VIVA Anderson 4 Days Ago
So artistic, your creativity!, your vision splendid/Yucca ~ Bravo.....fav.......:)V
Barbie Corbett-Newmin
Congratulations; your lovely amazing nature art is featured on the Best For Blankets and Textile Products Photography & Art page! Please make it available for future buyers' consideration by posting your feature in the Featured Images Archive 2023 discussion thread. Please also post in any other appropriate discussion threads-- ie sales of your group images etc. It would also be nice if you tweet the group when featured. Thank you!
LaVonne Kennedy
Really different and interesting,,,it has such a pastel chalk look Love the softness created of such a prickly guy Douglas
Douglas Taylor replied:
LaVonne! Thank you so much for your wonderful words! They are greatly appreciated by this man.
Alex Lapidus
Congratulations, your image has been featured in the Experimental Photography group -- thanks for sharing it with us! Please feel free to add it to the April – June 2023 Feature Archive in the Discussion section (using the "embed" link on your image page).
Douglas Taylor replied:
Thank you, Alex! I am honored to be featured in this amazing photographic art group.
Gary F Richards
Spectacular concept yucca abstract composition, lighting, shading, lovely colors and artwork! F/L voted
Angelika Vogel
This is fantastic Douglas!
Douglas Taylor replied:
Thank you very much, Angelika! I'm delighted to have you stop by and check out my photography.
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