A little late

 

I decided to photograph cactus flowers this summer. My first opportunity was at Louisville Swamp near Shakopee on July 4th weekend. I wasn't happy with the results. A couple weeks ago I went to Gneiss Outcrops near Granite Falls for prickly pear flowers. It was 90+ degrees, humid and I found something like this. Yesterday I was out and was only 88 degrees, still no flowers.  What am I doing wrong? After two frustrating visits I decided to research images like this on Google. This is the fruit not the bud, going back a third time will not result in my flower image.

Lesson: Next time I'll do some research before hand instead of afterward. On a positive note, Granite Falls has a great Dairy Queen where a salted caramel truffle Blizzard will restore you after your walk among the rocks.

Frozen Cactus

I could feel the pain of this cactus caught in the wrong place at the wrong time a few thousand years ago. Little did it know it was condemned to Minnesota winters while it's relatives would live in sunny Arizona year round. One of my projects this year is photographing scientific and natural areas of the upper Minnesota River Valley where prickly pear cactus is relatively common on the granite outcroppings.

Hanging On

The fierce prairie wind that blew my cap off was also a nuisance for the pollinating green bees. This one was hanging on before it took off to another blossom. 

Prairie Sky and Cactus

The wide open sky draws me to the prairie over and over. This day's intermittent clouds kept the cactus flowers open and added drama to a windy day. 

Technical: On camera flash was used to brighten the flowers.

Cactus Close Up

I was in photographer's heaven shooting cactus on Thursday. Yellow is almost one stop brighter than neutral and would have been a real challenge back in the old days of film. Lightroom has solved the exposure problem although I still shoot yellow at +2/3 or +1. More to come.

Minnesota Cactus

Minnesota has three species of cactus, typically all are in bloom during late June. The brittle prickly pear cactus seen here is the most common and found on exposed rock surfaces along the Minnesota River Valley. These were photographed on Rock Ridge SNA near Jeffers.