Unusual flower

Gallery: FloraPosted July 9, 201266 views7 comments

During a recent trip to southern Oregon, I found lots of wild flowers coming into bloom. By far this was the strangest of the bunch. I have no idea what it is (I sent the image to a botanist for her opinion)but it somewhat resembles a flower called the Firecracker. It appears to be a perrenial as it grows from a woody vine. The way the flowers are all concentrated in this green bowl, I find facinating.

Tech info
Canon 60D with EF 28-135mm IS @ 135mm, f/3.5-5.6
1/40th second @ f/6.3, ISO 400
handheld

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Ken Smith on July 9, 2012 at 11:04 PM

A strange flower pod...looks suited for rain forests with a built-in umbrella. A steady hand at 135mm and 1/40th...I could never pull off that one...I shoot my 100mm at no slower than 1/200th...double the mm is my rule. Well done. There is a lot of empty space on the edges and shallow dof...suggesting cropping or vignetting to point interest to the center sharp areas. Good capture ...

Registered on September 5, 2008, 449 Posts, 2444 Comments

Comment posted by Bob&Charly Nelson on July 10, 2012 at 6:46 AM

Well done Peter, tack sharp for hand held. I almost wish the in-focus branch on the left were not there as it competes for attention to me.
Bob

Registered on October 27, 2005, 289 Posts, 4202 Comments

Comment posted by David Schwaegler on July 10, 2012 at 10:41 AM

Peter,

Your flower is orange honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa). There are lots of pictures of it on a Washington State Museum Page. As you say, it is a vine. Also in your picture, the stem on the left is foliage from some kind of rose. As others have said, it is a nice sharp image especially for hand-held.

Registered on December 4, 2003, 232 Posts, 1652 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on July 10, 2012 at 11:58 AM

Nicely done, Peter. A great find, beautifully lit, and one which I enjoy seeing in its setting ( apart, maybe, from the single sharp branch to the R ).

Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on July 10, 2012 at 9:22 PM

Peter:
Unusual flower, not seen one of this before so thanks for posting. The flower is well captured, nice coloring and exposure. As the flower is centered, cropping this 5:4 removing the branch on the right and the blur area on the right may work as well.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Cross on July 10, 2012 at 10:42 PM

Thanks to David S., I got a name for this. Orange honeysuckle. It is a native and from checking several websites found out it has been reported all the way to no. CA. There appears to be some variation in the flower color. But glad to know what this is nevertheless. As to the comments on the sharpness on a handheld, I really can't take the credit for being super steady. The lens has stabilization which I'm sure is the real reason.

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on July 14, 2012 at 10:27 PM

Hi Peter

I too, find this a fascinating flower!!

I especially like the color and light in this marvelous natural scene

Albert Darmo

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments