night-blooming cereus



24 comments to “night-blooming cereus”

  1. Jeremy says:

    Gorgeous! The lighting is especially dramatic on the side shots.

    I just read that the flower is mostly pollinated by moths, it’s white so it can be seen at night (plus the fragrance), and it has no UV “runways” because there is no UV to reflect at night (and night critters don’t tend to be able to see in the UV).

  2. Cynthia G. says:

    I knew this would look so dramatic on the photoblog. I wish you could photograph smell. I love photo # 4 and #10. And my fav. was the one from the food site with cute puppy nose in it.

  3. marianne says:

    Kick-ass!! That is an absolutely amazing flower, and fantastic shots, Jen! Where did you find it?

  4. jenny says:

    WOW!! That is so beautiful!

  5. Janice says:

    National Geographic worthy, really. So beautifully caputured!

  6. Margie says:

    Stunning! Jen, I am not worthy. Your blog is phenomenal in so many ways. This is just the beginning for you. What a gift you have; thanks for sharing your beautiful spirit.

  7. Manisha says:

    These pictures rock! I love the abstract-y #8 a lot. The side shots are amazing, too! And you have more that are going to bloom?! Lucky girl!!

  8. elena says:

    of course, now i want to paint some of them! i seem to be able to raise leaves only so far, sigh! but these pics almost made up for my stumped thumb.

  9. Holly says:

    How are you NOT making a truck load of money off your photography? (Maybe she is and just not telling all her “fans”!) That is incredible. Shop those shots around, I say! This is even more beautiful than all your stream photos (my personal favs). Congrats.

  10. bee says:

    whoa!!! that is poetry.

  11. Debbie says:

    Jen,

    Your mom shared your pictures with us. Wow! What an amazing photographer you are! We saw a new florwer at your parents’ house last night, but your pictures are even more stunning.

  12. Kathy says:

    Jen, a friend of ours forwarded your pictures to us. They are beautiful. I had heard about this flower and now I have gotten the chance to see it through your pictures. You truly have a gift.

  13. jenyu says:

    Jeremy – thanks for the trivia, sweetie. xxoo

    Cynthia – yes, I wish I could post the smell too. It’s so lovely. Thanks!!

    Marianne – my grandma gave it to me off of one of her plants, which she brought over from Taiwan thirty some years ago :)

    Jenny – thank you!

    Janice – thanks :)

    Margie – that’s so sweet of you, but you ARE worthy :)

    Manisha – I’ll be sure to give you a leaf whenever we meet up!

    Elena – ha ha, I have prints for you :)

    Holly – it’s just a hobby so far, dear! But thank you, you’re very kind.

    Bee – :)

    Debbie – thank you! So glad you were able to see them in person. Aren’t they lovely?

    Kathy – that’s so nice of you to say, thank you.

  14. Louise says:

    Hi, I discovered your blog when searching for night blooming cereus. I just wanted to leave a comment to tell you how beautiful your photos are. I love taking pictures but mine are far from yours! Do you mind sharing what your lighting setup was?

  15. jenyu says:

    Louise – thanks for your comment. I used an external flash off camera to highlight the bloom. Sometimes I used two external flashes at 180 degrees from one another. I was just playing around, so experimented with different configurations. I suggest doing the same, especially if shooting digital. It pays to play around! Good luck.

  16. Bill says:

    Just wanted you to know that I’ve had mine for 4 years now. It bloomed for the first time last year and had only 2 blooms. The beginning of this summer I repotted it into a much larger pot
    ( the plant is about 6-7 feet tall now ) and I was fortunete enought to have a total of 7 full blooms this year. The fragrance was absolutly fulfilling. This year I used several different techniques to get different pictures. One I used just a hand held flash light and when I went to a photo store to print up an 8 x 10 for a friend. They like it so much they asked if they could copy it and put it up on one of their wall. ( which they actually did ). I think I would like to do now is try to film it opening up over night.

  17. jenyu says:

    Bill – best of luck on that!

  18. Kurtis says:

    Just wanted to say GREAT PICTURES! I have had mine for some time now I think about 5 years and this past summer is the first time that it has bloomed. I heard that the more root bound it is the more flowers that it produces. Anyway to my surprise it bloomed again yesterday during the day! I could not believe it but like everyone else said I so wish for those who do not have one of these plants to be able to smell the flower when it blooms….So sweet!! To all the night bloomers out there have a great day and look forward to next year.

  19. jenyu says:

    Kurtis – nice, glad you got another bloom. They are sweet, aren’t they? I heard you can eat them after they have bloomed…

  20. Silvy says:

    hi wonderfull pics of your night blooming I have the night flower to… it`s gorgeous!

    I`m waiting for the next blooming :)

  21. Tony says:

    I can’t wait to see the photos you shoot tonight!

  22. Tony says:

    btw, I absolutely love how the plant looks like a jellyfish – the shots with the dark background capture that resemblance beautifully

  23. Novia Rika says:

    Dear Jen, I wrote a poem about this flower with title Night Blooming Cereus. Can I use one of your photos in my blog alongside with the poem? Of course I will mention your name & link to the website. Thank you very much

  24. jenyu says:

    Novia – yes, of course. Thanks for asking.