Cactus Photography

I enjoy photographing cactus and the flowers they grow because there are so many different spices and they are simple to photograph.  In spring and a little bit in late summer they produce some of the most beautiful flowers.  There are different angles that can be done on the same subject and get a completely different kind of photograph.  Flowers come in many sizes from the ones tiny to others that can be larger and usually more than one on a cactus.

What I Do

When planning my day to photograph cactus and their flowers, I will go out early in the morning or late in the day.  The lighting brings out a lot of color.  Once the sun is high enough in the sky, shadows start to be a problem, so I carry a reflector to help shine light to the darker areas.   The best time is just around sunrise where there is enough light but no shadows.   I have found out that photographing when it is cloudy allows shooting all day and the colors come out very well.  

Most of the time I will use a tripod so I can take my time to create the composition I want.  I used a full frame camera and rarely use a flash system.  Since I am on a tripod, I have the time for longer exposures, however, when wind is around, I need to use a high ISO setting.   I mostly use the Canon 28-70 F/2.8 lens but sometimes need to use my wider Canon 11-24 F/4 lens.  When the flower is too far away, I will use my telephoto 100-400 F/4-5.6 lens.