Francisco Mingorance's Image

Life among the sharp volcanic rocks of Tenerife's Teide National Park is tough.

'The Canary Islands' climatic isolation, together with 40 million years of physical isolation, has led to the evolution of unique species,' says Francisco. 'Volcanoes create a world in which everything is exceptional, virgin and wild.' The rare red bugloss is considered a floral treasure, symbolic of the exclusive wildlife of this mini-continent. Francisco spent many days looking for the right grouping of plants, finally discovering this tight clump of flowering spikes on the Ucanca plain. The Mount Teide volcano provided the perfect backdrop, and Francisco positioned his tripod so that the North Star would appear just above the crater.