Welcome to the world of arid plants. This is the Echinocactus grusonii, commonly known as the Golden Barrel Cactus that is distinguished by a large round or barrel shaped stem covered with menacing spikes with a tuft of yellow 'hair' on top. This is native of Central Mexico and flowers during the summer. Echinocactus is derived from the Greek word, echinos, meaning hedgehog. This particular species is named after herman Gruson, a cactus enthusiast. It can grow to around 18 inches in diameter and can reach 2-3 feet tall. When they grow, they lean toward the Southwest, making them act as a natural compass in the desert. Unfortunately, the golden barrel cactus has been over-collected to the point of endangering their survival in the wild.
Statistics
Place: 74 out of 124 Avg (all users): 5.6667 Avg (commenters): 6.4167 Avg (participants): 5.3500 Avg (non-participants): 5.8661 Views since voting: 3363 Votes: 207 Comments: 13 Favorites: 0
If you want to fix this image even though you have the blue I would say mask the back ground out and then change the color saturation to a percentage that is a lot less so the cactus stands out again. I mean you have blurred it out the background well and the cactus is a nice thing. Yeah so desaturate the blue maybe even blurr it just a bit more and you will have a great image. The foreground is already sharp or go back and find it again and take away the blue entirely. Thank you for you image.
I respect these damn things! During a backpacking trip in Big Bend NP I was trying to take a picture of a wind carved tree and crOUCHED down on one of these guys trying to get a good shot. Not fun!
Very nice shot of the cactus - clean and well defined. I'm really turned off by that strip of bright blue at the right, it gives the picture a very unnatural look that is out of keeping with the message.
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
