Photographer: Giovanni Simeone
Code: PBC490295
DESCRIPTION
The Giant Cardoons are masters in the art of adapting to desert life. With their massive structure and deep roots, they play a crucial role in the balance of the desert ecosystem, providing shade and shelter for many other species. Growing at a slow pace, giant cardoons can take decades to reach their maximum height. Every wrinkle on their trunk is a testament to the time they have spent under the scorching sun.
These plants have developed unique evolutionary strategies to adapt to harsh environmental conditions. Chlorophyll photosynthesis involves even trunks and stems, while many plants are covered with a thick impermeable film or a waxy layer that reduces transpiration and water evaporation. The roots extend just below the surface and can absorb up to 95% of available water. The life cycle is limited to the wet season, with plants in vegetative dormancy for the rest of the year.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Giovanni Simeone
Born in 1968 and the son of an artist, Giovanni Simeone studied photography in Milan, where he began contributing to Bell’Italia magazine from its very first issue. In the early 1990s, he moved to Germany to work for a photo agency, then spent nearly three years traveling the world before settling in Paris.
There, he started an exclusive collaboration with Le Figaro, producing more than fifty feature stories. During frequent trips back to Italy, he founded Simephoto (www.simephoto.com), a photography agency specializing in travel and landscape imagery. Thirty years later, Simephoto brings together around fifty of Europe’s top photographers and is recognized as a leading agency in the field.
Its portfolio includes clients such as National Geographic Traveler, Le Figaro, Outside, Geo Germany, Stern, la Repubblica, The Sunday Times and The Guardian, as well as major international publishers including Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, and Fodor’s.
In 2011, Simephoto launched its own publishing house, Simebooks, with photography at the heart of every project. As an author, Giovanni Simeone has published Not Food for Old Men (2015) and Los Angeles Cocktails (2017). Forthcoming titles include Baja California Peninsula (as photo editor) and Los Angeles (2025).
Simebooks releases about a dozen new titles each year, with a strong focus on promoting local culture and landscapes through unique, original photographic campaigns.