Full Moon Over Sand Verbena
Made at dawn during an early 1998 bloom, this photograph brings together a setting full moon, a field of pink sand verbena and a rare layer of desert fog lifting beneath the first light of morning. The San Ysidro Mountains catch the pink sunrise beyond the flowers while the moon remains visible in the brightening sky.
After hearing about a sudden early bloom in Anza-Borrego, I arranged a quick three-day car trip to photograph it before it disappeared. At these lower desert elevations, a wildflower display can burn up rapidly if hot weather takes hold.
This photograph was made early at dawn just as a rare blanket of desert fog was beginning to lift from the sand verbena. The first pink rays of sunlight were reaching the tops of the San Ysidro Mountains while the full moon was setting above them. For a few minutes, the moon, fog, flowers and morning light all came together in the same landscape.