Lens-Artists Challenge #389: Time to Relax
For this week’s Lens-Artists Challenge, Anne wants to know what relaxes us. She writes: “What gets you away from the stresses of daily life. What’s your passion?” The short answer for me is nature. Nowadays, when I’m out in nature, my camera is with me. Whether shooting landscapes or macro photography, nature is my passion. Check out her post to see her examples of how she finds time to relax.
My response to the challenge takes me back to Big Bend Ranch State Park. In the featured photo, the desert holds its breath just before I step inside a different world. Two ancient formations of dark igneous rock frame a narrow seam in the earth. The blue-toned monochrome strips away the warm tans of the Chihuahuan Desert, letting ocotillo skeletons, low scrub, and streaked cirrus clouds speak for themselves. The canyon is waiting. Come along and take time to relax.
Before diving into the photos, here’s what brings hikers to this remarkable place. Closed Canyon Trail is about 1.4 miles (2.25 km) round trip — manageable for most fitness levels in 45 minutes to an hour. Towering walls rise up to 150 feet (46 m), narrowing to just 10–15 feet (3–4.5 m) wide in places, with a smooth rock floor worn pale by flash floods. You hike until the canyon becomes inaccessible before reaching the Rio Grande, turning back whenever you like. After heavy rains, expect some deep water pools along the way.
Ancient igneous rock, polished smooth by millennia of flash floods, towers overhead — its layered textures reading like pages of geological time. In the cool shade, the air drops noticeably in temperature, a welcome gift after the open desert. The gentle wind and occasional birdsong will relax you more than you expect.
The sun cresting the canyon rim at just the right angle bursts into a perfect starburst — the kind of gift the canyon offers those patient enough to wait. The streaked clouds and jagged opposing wall create a composition that feels less like a photograph and more like a vision. I love hiking this canyon midday; with the sun high, you get striking light and shadow playing across every surface.
Every journey has a boundary, and Closed Canyon marks its own with quiet authority. The canyon drops steeply toward the Rio Grande, requiring rappelling gear to continue. This is where you stop, breathe, look back the way you came, and feel grateful for every step.
Tucked into a crevice between basalt slabs, a Turk’s Head Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus hamatacanthus) catches a shaft of sidelight as the sun angles low through the canyon walls. Its fierce spines — hooked, up to six inches (15.25 cm) long, ranging from white to red to yellow — become something almost luminous in this moment, each one a tiny torch. Even in the harshest corners of the Chihuahuan Desert, resilience finds a way to glow.
Against the canyon’s hard surfaces, this bloom is a revelation. The Roundflower Catclaw (Senegalia roemeriana) produces delicate puffball flowers along reddish-brown stems, its feathery foliage a soft contrast to fierce white thorns. A cluster of round green buds waits beside the single open flower — the canyon’s own quiet calendar.
The Desert Christmas Cactus — also called Tasajillo or Christmas Cholla (Cylindropuntia leptocaulis) — delivers the trail’s final flourish. Its bright red, grape-sized fruits, persistent through winter, explain the festive name. The shrubby plants grow up to 6 feet (1.8 m) tall on branches barely 0.2 inches (5 mm) wide. This single burning-red fruit is the last thing the trail offers before you step back into the wide open desert.
I am grateful for the beautiful images you share week after week, including those for your response to Ann-Christine’s Journey challenge. I hope you will join this challenge, too. Please don’t forget to use the “lens-artists” hashtag in your posts to help people find your wonderful challenge entries.
Next week, I will feature a new challenge. It will go live at noon EST in the USA. Tune in to find out more about the challenge then. Please see this page for more information about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history. If you don’t want to miss any future challenges, please consider subscribing to the team members’ websites. Here they are:
- Tina of Travels and Trifles.
- Patti of P.A. Moed.
- Ann-Christine of Leya.
- John of Journeys with Johnbo.
- Anne of Slow Shutter Speed.
- Sofia of Photographias.
- Egídio of Through Brazilian Eyes.
- Ritva of Ritva Sillanmäki Photography.
- Beth of Wandering Dawgs.
That is the story behind the shots. If you liked this post, you may also be interested in others featuring Big Bend Ranch SP, Chihuahuan Desert, Closed Canyon, Landscapes, Lens-Artists, Macros, Monochrome, Monochrome Madness, Parks, Texas, and Wildflowers. Until the next time, keep clicking and capturing the beauty your eyes find.
For Leanne’s Monochrome Madness # 55: Walls, hosted by Margaret of From Pyrenees to Pennines.
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Tranature - quiet moments in nature
What a beautiful place to find your calm Egídio, thank you for taking us along! 😊
Egidio Leitao
Xenia, thank you for these complimentary words. I like the tranquility there.
Leya
Amazing structures, Egidio! B&W is the great choice of course. The hike seems very peaceful and giving much to photograph. I relaxed too.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Ann-Christine. It’s one of my favorite hikes in the park.
Sofia Alves
I love the editing on your monochrome ones and after seeing it was for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness challenge they made even more an impression. Excellent, Egídio!
Egidio Leitao
Thank you very much, Sofia.
Leanne Cole
Beautiful shots Egidio, not sure if I would find it calming I’ve stories of flash floods and stuff in those places, lol. I’m always the voice of doom.
Egidio Leitao
Leanne, thank you. I always look at the forecast before doing those things. I remember that we didn’t do the Narrows at Zion because of the warnings.
aekshots
Great shots of the canyon Egidio…looks like a magical place!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks a bunch, Andy. Magical is a very good word to describe that hike/walk.
photobyjohnbo
A wonderful gallery, Egidio! Your black-and-white photos are my favorites, of course, they reflect the textures of the terrain so beautifully with a hint of blue. Love the starburst!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the feedback, John. I love shooting startbursts.
Anita
Your series feels like a peaceful walk, Egidio, from the cool canyon walls to the small desert surprises. Very calming and beautifully seen. Your eye for both the vast and the delicate is truly relaxing. A wonderful response to the challenge.
Egidio Leitao
I appreciate your thoughtful feedback. That walk is very peaceful.
margaret21
Pausing to explore the detail is often the very best way to relax. As you have done here.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Margaret. I’m so glad I could tie this to your monochrome challenge.
margaret21
Excellent plan!
Steve Hyde
Great post Egidio. The monochrome works really well with the canyon shots and that starburst is very cool 🙂
Egidio Leitao
Thank you very much, Steve.
Anne Sandler
What a beautiful relaxing passion Egidio!
Egidio Leitao
Thank, Anne. With my camera in hand, time seems to stand still.
Tina Schell
You’ve brought the canyon to life for us this week Egidio. I’m a sucker for a sunburst and yours is so lovely teasing us with only a half! It almost looks like a giant spider climbing the wall. Also loved the way you used monochrome for the canyon and color for the plants. Very clever my friend! Terrific post.
Egidio Leitao
Tina, I also love sunbursts. I used monochrome to accentuate the wall textures and piggyback this post with Monochrome Madness. Thank you for your feedback.
Wandering Dawgs
Egidio, I am so enjoying all of your wonderful images from Big Bend Ranch State Park. You could publish a book about it or write the brochure for the park!
Egidio Leitao
Beth, I’m glad I have not bored you yet. Thanks for the supporting words.