Gabriel Eisenband's Image

Gabriel set out to photograph one of the highest peaks in the Colombian Andes: Ritak’Uwa Blanco. Yet it was the foreground of senecio plants that caught his attention instead, the flowers shining bright yellow. As the day was unusually calm, Gabriel was able to shoot the flowing clouds without any blur of movement from the plants.

This senecio species is a member of the daisy family found only in Colombia. It is adapted to the extreme cold of the Andes and flourishes at high altitudes, though below the point at which snow remains on the ground year-round. The plant has proteins in its leaves and a dense covering of woolly, white ‘hair’, both of which stop it from freezing.