Low-angle morning sunlight poured onto steep mountain slopes in the Sonoran Desert. Far below the towering saguaros hide tiny fishhook pincushion cactuses no more than 6 inches tall, their solemn spines gracefully hooked as if bowing to the radiance of the morning sun. As the light hit each spine, it created beautiful translucent shades of yellow, orange, and red, reminiscent of stained-glass windows in a church. With my camera almost at ground level, I captured the ethereal beauty of the miniature scene before me.