Wild Orchid - ID Please

Gallery: FloraPosted May 18, 201073 views10 comments

I ran across this beautiful native orchid (I think it's a type of paphiopedilum) while hiking in the mountains of Western North Carolina. I went back two more times to photograph it with my tripod. The light is quite variable in the woods so I was lucky to catch this in a somewhat illuminated condition, although I had to use a higher ISO than I would have liked. Anyone know the species? C&C welcome!

Canon 5D MkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 2.8/21 ZE
1/20 sec @f/9.0
ISO800
RAW processing only

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Steven M Kahn on May 18, 2010 at 7:14 AM

Don't know the species Michelle, but your capture is lovely.

Registered on July 20, 2009, 140 Posts, 1198 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Duval on May 18, 2010 at 8:48 AM

It is a variety of Lady's Slipper Cypripedium acaule Pink Lady's slipper or Two leafed lady's slipper. Wide ranging over the East coast from New Foundland to Alabama. Very nice image.

Paul

Reference book Native Orchids of North America North of Mexico

Registered on June 30, 2009, 508 Posts, 1907 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on May 18, 2010 at 9:06 AM

Def. a Pink Lady Slipper - the state flower of Minnesota actually.**

I like the isolated focus but I would prefer a lower angle and it could be brightened up in RAW a little

- Luke

**Correction: the Pink and White Lady Slipper is the state flower of Minnesota (AKA the Showy Lady Slipper) Thanks for the correction!

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on May 18, 2010 at 11:19 AM

Michele: Welcome to the finest Flora gallery on the planet and thanks for a fine first post here. Seems the ID question has been addressed so I'll just comment on the image. I agree about brightening this a half stop or so but otherwise this works pretty well for me. I like seeing the environment and it is just OOF enough to give you good subject separation. Really good find and a fine capture. Great to have you aboard and looking forward to more. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Mitch Moraski on May 18, 2010 at 12:06 PM

Hey Luke...I thought the state flower of Minnesota was the Showy ladyslipper?? I could be wrong, but I had a woman from MN purchase a print from me stating that it ( the showy) was the state flower. Hmmmmmmm???

Registered on August 3, 2008, 105 Posts, 590 Comments

Comment posted by Barb Pflaum on May 18, 2010 at 12:36 PM

Very nice image, but I agree that it could be brightened a little.

Registered on January 14, 2009, 316 Posts, 2724 Comments

Comment posted by Balakumar Kaushik on May 18, 2010 at 3:04 PM

Lovely looking flower indeed. Might selectively brighten the flower a wee bit to make it stand-out from the rest of the image.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 98 Posts, 1403 Comments

Comment posted by Michele Williams on May 18, 2010 at 5:38 PM

Thanks for all the great comments and the ID. As soon as I posted the image I realized that it looked dark next to all the other images in the gallery. So I did a curves adjustment to bring out the bloom, and then a slight overall exposure increase.
Thanks again!
~Michele

Registered on April 3, 2010, 28 Posts, 146 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Southard on May 18, 2010 at 10:01 PM

Nice job on the repost Michele. I like your DOF choice. Good sharpness and detail in the flower itself.

Registered on July 15, 2007, 258 Posts, 3892 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Gallo on May 19, 2010 at 8:37 AM

Hi Micelle, I like the repost, great looking Lady Slipper

Registered on September 14, 2005, 182 Posts, 1471 Comments