One of the highlights of my trip to San Diego every year is the Bird of Paradise plants around the Marina Village conference center. Either the festival was a bit early this year or the flowers (not only BofP) were a bit late…but there were still some good specimens. I love the color contrast when the flower is fully open. It is so outrageous!

Canon SX50HS at 24mm macro equivalent, plus 1.5x digital tel-converter. f4 @ 1/640th @ ISO 160. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.