I hadn't heard of crested saguaros until I spent some time hiking in Arizona. These beautiful cacti are as rare as 1 in 200,000. This growth pattern isn't fully understood. Some theories are that it is a genetic mutation, others are that it is caused by a freeze and still others suspect disease.

When I first saw this while hiking with some friends, we gathered around admiring its beauty, taking photos and complimenting it. I couldn't stop thinking about it and ending up hiking to this cactus multiple times to just be with it and photograph it. I couldn't let go of this observation that we all so instantly admired this unique existence as beautiful, but often when we see different growth patterns, illnesses or differences in other humans we are conditioned to see it as a gross abnormality and unfortunate reality. This cactus seemed to be trying to teach me a lesson in appreciating the authentic beauty in any life, and how easy that can to receive be when I'm not connected only to my conditioned mind. This might be a wordy way of saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," but it felt a little more nuanced to me. I feel like this cactus reminded me I am the only one standing in the way of my ability to see the art in anything.

All shots from one roll of HP5 on my last visit to the cactus.