Clinging to the red rocks of Sedona, the agave plant also known as a "century plant" grows in abundance. The plant is given this name because it is known to only bloom once in a century. The plant however, usually only lives to about 25 years. Despite the plant rarely living up to its name, it does only bloom once in its lifetime with a stalk that protrudes out from the center about 15 feet high with clusters of flowers at the top. Shortly after blooming the plant will die and fall over.
This image was taken on a winter day while driving through Southern Alberta while targeting overwintering snowy owls. After spotting one particular owl on a snowy knoll, I methodically worked my way into the field while avoiding disturbing the owl. As I made my way out I couldn’t help but notice the light bouncing off the galvanized tin on the nearby silos was producing a far more interesting photo than the owl I was pursuing. Without being equipped for landscape photography I made a decision to try stitching 14 images together, each taken with a 400mm hand-held lens. I had never tried creating a panorama with a long lens and am quite pleased with the result.
