About the Image(s)

Information:

Camera: Fujifilm X-E3
Shutter Speed: 1/420
Exposure Settings: F5.6
ISO 200
Editing Software: Luminar Neo
Tripod: No

20 years I’ve been waiting for this cacti to blossom. Conditions were just right after Hurricane Hilary and during a full blue moon for this Peruvian Apple Cactus (Cereus Peruvianus) to produce it’s first blossoms on August 30th. I tried some night shots which just didn’t work well and managed to get some early morning pictures before the flower closed which required some editing as you can see by the original. There was very little space to shoot from further away which would have increased depth of filed. I have a lot to learn about shooting with manual settings and depth of field.

Note: The Peruvian Apple Cactus opens almost exclusively at night, between sunset and sunrise, as a 24 h rhythm during a specific 3–4-day span of the lunar cycle (28 days). Cereus Peruvianus average bloom cycle is 29.5 days only in summer months so it tracks the solar cycle as well.