Botanical Garden Flashlight Night

Violet and I had an excellent opportunity to get to go to the Desert Botanical Garden for their Flashlight tour. This is open to anyone but Violet was getting to do this with Girl Scouts. They had different stations set up throughout the garden and we could visit them as well as the other places. We arrived at 7 pm, just before the sunset, but it was still quite hot outside, around 107° f, and our first stop was at the drawing with glow-in-the-dark chalk. They had buckets of chalk and asked the kids to make something desert related on the black cloth. Violet decided to draw a quick saguaro cactus. Then we strolled through an area that had some great cactus called espostoa nana, which had dense white hair that grows on it, it is almost tempting to touch that but I think you would quickly come to regret that choice.

Our next stop was, thankfully in an air-conditioned room, where she was looking at different plans under microscopes and trying to guess which each one was. Then we both learned about how mesquite trees have so many helpful options from creating pitch paint, which we painted fun designs onto some pottery, all the to the seed pots being ground up to be made into flour, which tastes like cinnamon and a hint of chocolate. Now Violet keeps asking if we can get some mesquite flour to make pancakes! We learned about the saguaro cactus and how birds will peck away at them until they create a hole and then that hole will become calloused and they can make a nest in that spot. They also told us about how the saguaro generally starts growing arms once they are between 50-70 years old.

One of our favorite things was they had a telescope set up on a mountain that anyone could come and look through. It was a nice and powerful telescope that they had pointed at the moon and you could see the craters. When Violet went up to look she said, “WOW!!” loudly and exuberantly and the lady said, “That is the type of reaction we are looking for and exactly why we do this!” On our walk back out this was the thing that she talked about! We made a quick stop to check out her saguaro glowing in the black light and went home to cool ourselves off.

Since this is something that anyone can do I would highly recommend checking out the Flashlight Night at the Botanical Garden, I just wouldn’t do it in the middle of the summer heat!

Music is Sunlit Saturdays by | e s c p | https://escp-music.bandcamp.com

Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

A Walk in the Desert

I May Be Dreaming/Pointed Elegence

I haven’t always paid attention to the desert and the beauty that I have been surrounded by most of my life. Somehow I missed the gorgeous desert blossoms and blooms and would see only the sharp pointy bits that could hurt me. Then something changed, and I can’t quite tell you what made me take notice, but I finally woke up to the secret that I missed that was all around me. There are times, like now, when the desert puts on a show of color and then there are times when the only green is the green of the cactus.

Now that I have finally taken notice of this beauty I am enjoying taking adventures to the surrounding desert and learning all about the types of cacti that grow in our desert. I know that I knew, long ago, that saguaros grow only in the Sonoran Desert but when you take time to really stop and think about the fact that this desert, which stretches across parts of Arizona, California, and Mexico, are the only place in the world that this plant grows. That is mindblowing and gives you a reason to pause and really take a look.

On this walk I discovered the desert putting on a show with its new growth with this cholla cactus. As I told you, I am just learning about these cacti and so I am unsure if the burgundy will turn into flowers or if it is just new growth. If you know, please tell me, I have been looking but can’t find the answer.

Even though they are beautiful you still want to keep your distance, and see the wickedly sharp spines that want to lock into your flesh!? Yeah, I kept myself clear of the pokie bits and snuck in just close enough to capture the splendor of these cacti.

These guys are sometimes known as “jumping chollas” but they don’t actually jump. They just like to catch a ride on your clothes or skin, ouch, and that is how they reproduce all over the desert by humans and animals taking them from place to place and redistributing them elsewhere in the desert.

Spring Intrigue/Pointed Elegence

Contented/Pointed Elegence

For too long I missed the beauty of a cholla being backlit, no matter the time of day, the sun shining through those white spines is magical!

So, this makes me wonder, what else is right at my fingertips that I have overlooked for far too long? What is waiting around the corner that I am going to start to notice now? What about you, what is something that suddenly came to life for you?

December 2022 Calendar

December is here and with that, it means the year is wrapping up! 2023 is sneeking up on us and it makes me wonder what it will hold! This year I focused on the series Pointed Elegance for the desktop calendar to share with you every month and with January not super far away I am thinking ahead to what series I should share next. Will it be one of the series that I have already created, and continue to work on, or will it be a whole new series? Wellllll, currently my plan is to create an example of a couple of my ideas and I hope to get feed back from you guys! Maybe take a little poll and you can vote for which is your favorite! Keep an eye out for that!

Happy holidays, my friends, and enjoy your last desktop calendar of 2022! Don’t forget to share it with your friends!

Keepsake/Pointed Elegance

How to Download

Save the calendar to your desktop by right-clicking and saving the image, or clicking and dragging the image to your desktop.

Would you like to have a reminder delivered by email every month to download that month’s calendar? Just sign-up below with your email address!

November 2022 Calendar

I have found on the days that I am completely overwhelmed that getting myself out of the house and into nature can change everything. This last week I took a trip to the Botanical Garden, here in Phoenix, and was amazed at how many of the cacti were in bloom in October! You know the saying, April showers bring May flowers, and in Arizona, the same can be said during the monsoon season, monsoon showers bring cactus flowers. Monsoon season is typically from June thru September when we have many rain storms. October was a surprise this year filled with rain and that brought on a whole new batch of flowers blooming from many cacti! I have enjoyed the extra rain and especially love the unexpected cacti blooms!

Fall Heirloom/Pointed Elegance

A photograph of a fish hook cactus.

How to Download

Save the calendar to your desktop by right-clicking and saving the image, or clicking and dragging the image to your desktop.

Botanical Garden in the Fall

There are some days that seem super heavy or overwhelming and for those days the best pick-me-up that I have found is to get out in nature. I have known it for a long time but really leaned into this when Bryce and I were in graduate school. It was just the two of us in a new place and I felt lost in a big city where I wasn’t spending any time in nature. Soon enough I was able to turn that around once I started photographing flowers. I know I have shared before that my studio was covered in fresh flowers, ones that had passed their prime, and of course the flowers I had hanging to dry. All of these flowers created a little oasis for me at that time.

Now we live in Phoenix and I am still always looking for that nature escape! Last week I took a morning trip to the Botanical Garden after I dropped the kids off at school. I like to go when they first open because there are times that it can feel like it is just me in the desert with no one around. As the morning goes on more and more people show up but you can always find those moments where it feels like the entire garden is yours alone.

These trips take me away and give me a moment to breathe and stop thinking about all the things that need to be done. I find inspiration in the cacti and gardens filled with flowers. As I walk around I find that the garden is filled with soooooooo many types of cacti that I have never seen, which inspire me to learn more about that type of cactus, and then I question if that would be a good cactus for my growing cactus garden.

They change up the art installations at the Botanical Garden, I’m guessing around every six months or so, which is an extra reason to go there. Earlier this year they had Chuluy in the Garden, check out this blog post from earlier this year to see Chuluy art, and now Playing in the Garden: Rotraut. Her art is large bold colorful sculptures that are both abstract and yet give you a feeling that you know what it is about at the same time. When I first walked in there was a little girl telling her mom, “That one looks like a G.” Her mom told the garden attendant that everything looks like a G because her name starts with a G and she associates everything with that right now. I loved overhearing that moment and knowing that these sculptures have a different meaning for every person.

A photograph of a Ferocactus glaucescens cactus.

Have you been to the Botanical Garden in Phoenix this fall? What was your favorite part? Is it the art, getting to walk around, the plants, or is it a little bit of all of it?

Digital Desktop Wallpaper

Over the last week, I was driving Myles, my son, across town over and over again for a virtual reality research study. I really want both kids to get great opportunities to earn money for themselves. This driving time gave me a lot of time to sit and think about things that bring joy into life, I’ll tell you that driving in Phoenix traffic is not one of them, and how I can bring joy into other people’s lives as well. Throughout this year I have created Facebook and Instagram stories that have little positive messages or thoughtful quotes alongside my photography. I have found that these serve as a positive reminder that I need in my own life and that someone else can benefit from them as well!

Well, I was thinking about that and how I would love to create a little reminder that I could see every day! So, now I get to show you the new desktop wallpapers that are available! There are even more in the shop so make sure to stop on by!

I am super excited to get to share these with you guys! I am starting off with images from Pointed Elegance and will be adding more from other series. Do you have a favorite image from a series that you would like to display on your desktop? Do you have a thought or a quote that you would like to be a gentle reminder for you every day? Send me a message and I can work on getting that added in!

October 2022 Calendar

Well, here we are, it is officially fall! October is that beautiful part of the year when the weather starts to cool down in Phoenix and when we can go back out and enjoy nature! When I can’t be out enjoying nature in all of its beauty I love to be editing the photos to share with you all! This month features the splendid glowing yellow flowers of an aloe vera bloom.

Splendid Radiance/Pointed Elegance

How to Download

Save the calendar to your desktop by right-clicking and saving the image, or clicking and dragging the image to your desktop.

Would you like to have a reminder delivered by email every month to download that month’s calendar? Just sign-up below with your email address!

Metal Magnet

I am excited to share a new product with you! You have seen the metal prints that I offer now this 4x4 metal magnet can bring a pop of art can be added to your kitchen! Metal magnets are going to be just like the metal prints, which you can read more about here, in the way that they are taken care of but they are versatile because they can be displayed on magnetic surfaces.

Center of it All / Pointed Elegance
A photograph of a cactus.

Where would you put your new metal magnet? Currently, mine is brightening up my filing cabinet in the office.

Center of it All can be found here.

September 2022 Calendar

The month of fall is officially here! We have had our summer fun, now as we get back fully into a routine, we say goodbye to the carefree days of summer. The next thing you know everything will be pumpkin flavored and pumpkin decor.

Around here, I just want to keep your computer desktop beautiful for you each and every month! This month we have a beautiful gymnocalycium cactus flower. This cactus has never bloomed for me before and recently I walked through the door and there was this flower that was about to bloom! I was so excited and ran back into the house yelling for everyone to come and see.

I hope that this little bloom will light up your day, just like it did mine when I first saw it!

How to Download

Save the calendar to your desktop by right-clicking and saving the image, or clicking and dragging the image to your desktop.

Would you like to have a reminder delivered by email every month to download that month’s calendar? Just sign-up below with your email address!

About a Metal Print

I love metal prints, the colors are just luminous, and I wanted to share a little bit about them. Photos printed on metal create a stop-you-in-your-tracks contemporary kind of art. Perhaps you have seen metal prints listed on my website and you were hoping to learn more about what a metal print is and how they look. A picture is worth a thousand words so I have added those as well as tried to answer questions that I once had about metal prints.

What is a metal print? It is a photograph printed on thin aluminum, 1/16” thick, and the images are coated with a vibrant glossy surface. Metal prints offer crisp vivid colors which bring the images to life and you have never seen such a brilliantly colorful photograph.

What sizes do they come in? I offer these in a variety of sizes, 16x16, 24x24, 30x30 in square images, and 16x24, 20x30, and 24x36 for vertical or horizontal images. 

How do I hang them on the wall? All metal prints come with a floating mount attached to the back. They float 1/2” off the wall and are ready to display in your home.

How do I clean my metal print? The surface can be cleaned with a soft cloth (microfiber works well) or a feather duster. Avoid using chemicals, abrasive cloth, and cleaners (such as Windex.)

Will my metal print have straight edges or rounded edges? All of my metal prints have rounded edges for safety.

Do metal prints rust? No, they will not rust.

Can I hang my image in the sun? Please keep your image away from direct sunlight, as direct sunlight isn’t good for any art, and causes it to fade.

Are metal prints archival and how long will they last? Yes, when kept indoors and out of direct sunlight, they are made with a Standard Archival Value of 100+ years.

Are metal prints durable? Yes, they are durable but with all art, you want to handle them carefully to avoid bending, denting, or crushing the metal.

Do you have more questions? Please make sure to leave a comment in the comment area below and I can answer more questions for you. I hope this information will help you with your decision if a metal print is what you have been looking for!

Order your favorite flower photograph on metal wall art print from Anna Chipman Photography to liven up your home wall decor today!

Please note:

Images are printed on metal and could the metal could have minor variations and imperfections that are on the surface of the metal that we can’t control. While we make every effort to reduce their visibility, we cannot consent to returns for these imperfections.