Cactus flowers

Cornflake

Some are blooming in the desert nearby. Cactus flowers mostly close up at night and open gradually after sunrise, reaching their peak at midday when the light is ghastly. A diffuser is handy. Backgrounds are usually messy so I use as shallow a depth of field as I can get away with.

This cholla flower was just beginning to open.

A close up of a more open cholla flower, focus-stacked.

Fully open.

Hedgehog cactus with yellow wildflowers in the background.

Hedgehog cactus.

Thanks for looking. Criticism is always welcome.

black mamba

Excellent work, buddy. Your DOF control pays big dividends in cases like this.

denisegoldberg

These are wonderful!
My favorites are the 1st, 3rd, and 4th images.

Cornflake

Tom and Denise, thank you!

willard3

Well done: I like no 3 best.

Cornflake

Thanks, Willard. The complimentary colors in that one are a plus.

sarasphotos

Lovely set. I like #2 best - great sharpness!

El Gato

All are wonderful shots! Great colors too! My pick of the set is #2. I really like the macro work. Well done!

Cornflake

Sara, El Gato, thanks. It's good when people have different favorites.

One more from yesterday.

denisegoldberg

@Cornflake said:
One more from yesterday.

I really like this one!

OrvSal

Great shots, #1 is my fav!

Cornflake

Denise, Orv, thanks. Although these flowers are everywhere in the desert, I don't see many clusters like the one in the photo I added last.

El Gato

I really like the "light" in the last image, which you added. It makes the central theme of the image immediately grab your attention. Nicely done. What time of day did you capture this image?

Cornflake

El Gato, it was about 1:00 PM--not my usual time for photography but it was overcast, which is excellent light for photographing these. In processing, I didn't change the brighter areas in the image much, but I darkened everything else in the hope of achieving the effect you mention.

El Gato

Thanks Cornflake.

Beautiful image!