Cylindropuntia leptocaulis, also known as Christmas Cholla, is blooming right now. The pale yellow flower is less than one inch wide so put your compact camera in macro (flower) mode or take a macro lens with you.
I shot the following yesterday afternoon.
I literally jumped out of a vehicle and quickly snapped this shot on two separate occasions. I was on Steward duty both times so photography wasn’t a priority but how could I pass this up?! It was overcast both times so I decided to create an artistic version. I softened all the edges and made all the fruit and rust a little redder than it actually was.
Christmas Cholla blooms (Opuntia leptocaulis) are a rare treat to see when hiking in the Preserve because they typically only appear very late in the day. Even if you did happen across one at the right time, you might not notice them because the blooms are very small. I’m lucky to have a few Christmas Cholla in my yard and because I watch my plants like a hawk, I noticed buds on one last week.
I checked every afternoon and was rewarded last night. I grabbed my SLR and a 180mm macro lens and started shooting. I wanted to use the SLR in order to get very shallow depth of field (fuzzy backgrounds) which is difficult (if not impossible) to get with a compact camera. Anyway, it’s been awhile since I’ve used my big camera so I’d forgotten how heavy it can be. After a few blurry pictures from camera movement, I upped my ISO to get a faster shutter speed but ultimately went for my tripod 🙂
