ASK QUESTIONS

Talk to local people. What you find out can inspire photos. I would have never known these cacti are called ‘old men’ and that water inside turns them into lightning conductors, or thought to spend time photographing one, without asking someone questions.

Right: A towering cactus in Puebla, Mexico. They’re known as viejitos, meaning ‘old men’, because they grow crooked as they age, and have white hair. The burnt streak was caused by a bolt of lightning, drawn towards the water stored inside.