"To the desert newcomer I would suggest that at first he confine himself to the minutiae of the plants and rocks; particularly would I offer that thought to the photographer. To attempt to reproduce a pleasing print of the desert viewed in its vastness is close to impossible unless cumulus clouds break up the seeming drabness, and then the picture becomes one of clouds, not desert.

Instead, I would first visit a botanical garden where the different species can be seen more or less isolated. here one can begin to see possibilities of texture or of contrast and which species offer the best opportunities, particularly during the blooming season. Then, with a book on cacti, try the desert itself. one will find challenges in the contrast of sunlight on needles or on the skin of the plant. Color enthusiasts will quickly run short of film as they get to know the soft loveliness of individual flowers.

There is no end to what the desert offers from sunrise to sunset. This picture is only one example of the desert as represented by the texture of one of its thousands of different residents."
- Barry M. Goldwater