This week I want to show you some of the interesting cacti I came across while in Big Bend National Park in Texas.
This first one is an Octillo (although technically it isn’t a cactus but we’re not being that picky, right?). It looks like a cactus and it has those similar sharp spines – you don’t want to get too close! The stems are 10-15 feet tall and the spines are about 1.5 inches long. The flowers can be used to make a herbal tea and the stems are used as a fencing material and can even be a living fence.
This image with the canyon in the background screams southwest to me. I made a lightened vignette on it to lessen the messy plants in the foreground and draw your eye into the centre of the image.
I made the image below at sunset. Exposing for the sky, the ocotillo became a silhouette but the prickly pear in the foreground still has some colour. This one didn’t require any special processing, just the usual colour balance and contrast.
Thank you!!
I really want to thank all of y’all 😉 for making my eBook launch such a success. I was overwhelmed with the response! There were over 500 downloads of my new eBook the first day. After 4 days there were over 800 downloads as well as an additional 400 downloads of my first eBook. I received lots of comments and thank-you’s on twitter, facebook and G+ and a ton of people emailed me directly. You guys kept me smiling all weekend. I’m really glad so many people are enjoying it.
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Lovely shots Anne!
Really love the colors in the sunset silhouette shot. You did a great job making an otherwise boring and cloudless sky interesting by filling the frame with the Ocotillo. Also love how you were able to keep some color in the foreground, really adds to the overall shot!
Nice work:)
Hi John, Sorry for the late reply, I have had very limited internet access lately. Thank you very much for your comment on the octillo image. You hit the nail on the head, I was trying to fill the frame with the cactus.
Great images, Anne. The sunset is my favorite.
Thank you very much Mark!
These are beautiful Anne…
And congratulations about the book, you are doing great 🙂
Hi Sid, thank you so much for the comment about the ebook and the octillo images. It’s great to have the support of my fellow photographers 😉
Love the soft light on the cactus in the foreground.
Hi Curt, Sorry for the late reply, I have had very limited internet access lately. Thanks for your comment about the octillo cactus image. I think I used a reflector to bounce some light back into the foreground of that image.
Wonderful shots Anne. I love the second one. I have downloaded the ebook and plan on sitting down with it tonight. This was a very hectic weekend getting ready for next weekend’s holiday as we have family coming in from out of town.
Hi Edith, Sorry for the late reply, I have had very limited internet access lately. I really hope you got a little free time and that you enjoyed the ebook! We have pretty much been ignorning holidays since we left home. The only difference is the number of people in the parks.
Such a nice place to visit.. 🙂 Thanks for sharing this with us.. I really love the photos! 🙂
Thank you very much for the visit and comments Zhariane.
Very nice Anne. You can always count on the Ocotillo for spring color even when other annuals aren’t blooming (as in this dry year!)
Thank you very much for your comments Russ. It is such an unusual plant with the red flowers at the tips like that.