I took this photograph in the Western Saguaro National Monument, outside Tucson Arizona. 

Contrary to what most people believe, this photo was taken near sunrise.  I was driving into the park, headed to a location I had previously scouted.  Always on the lookout for a good composition, I stopped the vehicle about 30 seconds after passing this scene, once I had fully visualized the possibility in my mind.  Fearful of stirring too much dust, I grabbed my gear and began to run back to the location.  Time was fleeting.  The clouds added special color to the sunrise, but they also threatened to obscure the crescent moon. 

In order for this photograph to be effective, I needed both the moon and the cactus to be within focus.  In addition, I needed to retain the contour of the distant hills -- especially the cacti protruding above them -- in order to convey the expansiveness of the desert.  Proper exposure and aperture were key.   To maximize depth of field, I had to stop-down the lens considerably.  But the light was still very faint, requiring a long shutter speed -- up to 15 seconds.  That would never work.  The clouds would become surreal wisps, and the earth's movement would blur the moon.   Furthermore, I knew that the crescent would be a fickle subject.  Too little exposure, and it wouldn't be sufficiently illuminated.  I finally reasoned upon an eight second exposure at f13.  You see the results here, perfectly true to what I captured with the camera.

I'm as proud of this work as any I've done.  I don't feel this photo is perfect.  There's always something.  But the forethought and technique that went into it speak to my artistic development.  Two years ago, I had no idea there was even this much technique to photography; let alone that a guy like me might be able to apply portions of it.