Cactus

[Teton Chuck]

I took this picture this morning in Grand Teton National Park. We have very few cacti in the area, and finding this clump with one flower was a treat.

[Donald]

Chuck - You've got the light beautifully on that.

That, along with a spot-on exposure, good composition an effective use of depth-of-field, all adds up to, in my view, not only a high quality image from a technical point of view, but a very pleasant image just to look at and explore.

[Mike Buckley]

To add to Donald's comments, it's amazing that the flower is at full bloom and in such perfect condition. In this case, it's probably best that there is only one flower, as other flowers around it surely would have been in a deteroriated condition that would have detracted from your very nice image.

[Teton Chuck]

Donald and Mike, thank you for the comments. Taking this photo was a good exercise for me. It was about 10:30 AM and the light was very harsh. I used a golf umbrella to shade the area and then used a piece of cardboard covered with aluminum foil to light the cactus. That approach allowed me to shoot later into the morning.

chuck

[Mike Buckley]

Your efforts with the umbrella and reflector are well worth the trouble, Chuck.

[Teton Chuck]

Thank you Mike. I do enjoy experimenting with the process. Hopefully I will get lucky again sometime.
chuck