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"The Desert Lily, also known as the Ajo Lily or Hesperocallis undulata, is a beautiful wildflower that is native to the southwestern region of North America and can be found in the Anza Borrego Desert. This perennial plant grows from a bulb and can reach up to two feet in height. It produces long, narrow leaves and beautiful, fragrant flowers that bloom in the spring. The flowers are usually white, but can sometimes have a pink or yellow tint. Each flower has six petals and a yellow center, and can measure up to three inches in diameter." [Anza Borrego State Park]
Following a wet winter, desert lillies were plentiful in the Borrogo Badlande, with numerous plants blooming around our usual camping spot near Font's Point. That made it easy to do some night photography, eating dinner as the sun set and then wandering out with a LED light panel to photograph the flowers isolated against a dark sky background. The images below were generated using focus stacking to achieve a sufficient depth of focus.
Photographed with a macro lens, tiny desert floor flowers reveal intricate, hairy detail. These photos were taken as focus stacks in shaded daylight, with a black cloth positioned as a backdrop. Using the black level and shadows sliders in Photoshop I could then render the background as a perfect black, without affecting the exposure for the plants.