Odd flower

[pictureted]

This is an odd Chinese flower from a plant given by a friend. It just started blooming and has many more flowers to go. I'm researching the name and will post later. I took the photo with a D7000 and Arax 80/2.8TS.

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[vinman]

It's a great shot, but not enough of the plant is visible to help id it. A succulent? Do you have a wider field shot? It does look interesting and the flower is beautiful!

 

[omarma]

Looks like a Christmas Cactus. They typically bloom twice a year around Christmas and again around Easter, triggered by the amount of daylight hours I believe.

 

[pictureted]

I understand the name is: Epiphyllum oxypetalum also known as Night blooming Cereus. Or tánhuā in Chinese.

I'll take more pictures as more flowers bloom. They are quite short lived.

 

[midocr]

Beautiful flower. Awesome saturated colors! I like that the whole flower is in focus, front to back.

 

[pictureted]

Thanks Mike, keeping front to back (actually along the diagonal) was why I used a Tilt-Shift lens (Arax 80/2.8 with extension tubes). I used maximum tilt to achieve the plain of focus chosen. I took the first shots of this flower with my 105/2.8 VR macro and couldn't get what I wanted in terms of DOF and focus.

 

[pictureted]

Another shot of the same plant. This time with my 300/4 AF-S and TC1.4. F8, 1/30, tripod.

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[dossy]

That's a beautiful flower, Ted. #2 is a nice shot!

 

[pictureted]

Thanks Dossy.

 

[TomS]

Nicely done, great color. There is a lot going on in the image.

I've forgotten all of the botany I ever learned, but the white star like "thingie" (technical term) looks like it would be fun to play with with a good sized extension tube. Maybe you could isolate the white star with the soft colorful background? Of course, you'd lose the flower's identity and it may be too abstract.