Night-blooming cereus photos

The night-blooming cereus seen here shows its flower one night a year. I think that's lovely and sad. Our tree has 14 blooming tonight.

These are shots from a hand-held Canon G-11, no flash, awkwardly lit with a flashlight. Sometimes you have to get the shots with what you've got, not with what you want. I'm open to suggestions, but I'll have to wait a year to give 'em a shot.

You did well!

I'm not a photographer any more.

Someone with experience will give you better advice.

super! no. 3 especially!

Numbers 3 & 4 look very nice!

Thanks for the kind words. I had about 8 decent shots and about 40 that were just too blurry and grainy. I am not trying to be modest when I say the good shots were accidental rather than planned.

Would a tripod make a big difference in cutting down on blurriness? The sensor on this camera isn't great at night, so I don't think there's anything I can do about the grain except try to light it well. Any tips for lighting objects on a pitch black night? I have to say I like the isolation of the last two on the black background, but I'm not really sure how I did it. These were the last two snaps I took on a lark.

Anyway, it looks like we have a few more buds, so I may get a chance to try this again in another night or two. Any night photography tricks are appreciated.

Just a rank amateur here, but I've been amazed at the difference a tripod with a delayed shutter release makes. Well worth the investment.

#4 is a great shot!

strop is right on target. I think the whiter shots look fantastic, especially with what you were using to take the picture. I dabbled in photography. My suggestions are as follows (shutter speed depends on how long it take for the flower to move, you need less than that):

DSLR
Tripod
Use the mirror lock up feature of the camera and couple that with a long exposure and a remote shutter release, either a corded or cordless.

Great shots.

Ugly plant with beautiful flowers. Probably the best smelling flower I've ever encountered.

Took these a couple years back.