04/23/2013
My son and his wife recently bought a home near us where the previous owner had planted some exotic cactus in the front yard. One of them is called an Argentine Giant, which is a member of the Cereus family. These cactus bloom once a year and most of the flowers only open for a single night. They are about 6” across and have a strong fragrance. The flowers begin to open in the late afternoon when in full shade and fully open in darkness. When the morning light begins to warm them, they close up and begin to shrivel. I kept close track of the buds and since they did not all bloom at once, I went Friday night at about 11:00 pm and again at 5:00 am Sunday morning to get more shots before and at sunrise. In all, I spent a total of about 3 hours taking these photos. I used off camera flash and also “painted the light” with a flashlight during long exposures, along with ambient light to get these images. Because of very limited depth of field of the macro lens used for the detail shots, I combined up to 8 images with different focal points using a process called “focus stacking” to give sharp detail throughout the images. I had seen these faded blooms at the botanical garden in the past, but, I was only able to get one photo of these previously when I went early one morning. Who knew I would be able to get these about a half mile from where I live? I can’t wait until it blooms again next year. I am glad my son’s neighbors did not call the police while I was out there at such odd times.
