Cactus Blooms

Hi Sandy,

An above view works well for these cactus flowers.  The comp looks good with the diagonal arrangement of flowers, buds, and cactus pads.  The pads have a blue cast so if that is how they look in nature, then I'm fine with how they look in the image.  Flower petal colors are nice and rich...............................Jim

I agree with Jim. This looks to me like a tough processing job. The cyan cast is definitely there, but I couldn't get it out without weirding every other color value! I like this very much, but the color cast is a bit much. Maybe you could get better color values with the RAW image?

Phil, Thanks for the thoughts, but this appears image exactly as the cactus did. Many species of cactus in the Southwest and West have a blue-ish caste. It's a clue if you "couldn't get the cyan cast out without weirding out the other colours!"
Here is more info on blue cactus, if you or others are interested :  http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1676#b
I always shoot RAW, so this WAS processed from RAW.
Sandy

The blue cast comes from a waxy coating that helps prevent evaporation from the surface. 

Lovely, rich colouring, Sandy, and a fascinating swirl of buds peeping from the intersecting leaves.  The leaves have a lovely cyan cast, which I guess is due to the light (early morning/ evening ? )

Hi, Ian - Dan Scwartz in the post above explained that the blue cast comes from a waxy coating the cactus have to help avoid water loss. So many great people here to learn from!

Sandy 

Sandy: I've seen many prickly pears that have this color so this works for me. I like the top down view. I would be inclined to crop away the upper group of buds as they tend to pull my eye away from the main subjects and out of the frame.>=))>