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Grass Pink Flower
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Grass Pink Flower

by Ronald Davis

Gallery: FloraPosted July 25, 201499 views5 comments
Grass pink (Calopogon tuberosus) is one of the most common and widespread orchid species in peatlands of northeastern United States and nearby areas of Canada. I photographed this one on 10July2011 at Orono Bog in Orono, Maine, USA. The glandular surface of the floral parts shows clearly.
Canon EOS 7D
EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM +1.4x (420mm +1.6x crop factor)
1/500 sec; f/8 ISO 200
Aperture priority; spot metering

Comments

5 comments
Comment posted by Ramamohan Pai on July 25, 2014 at 9:26 PM
Ron - Like how the strong light has brought out the crystalline structure in the petals. Focus is pin sharp and the DOF perfect. What a cool looking flower. I would be surprised if this is some kind of a relative of Orchids.

I see some ghost like formation left of the 9.30 petal. You may or may not see it depending on the monitor settings. I'd also make the clipped flower in the lower left go away --> depends on individuals philosophy on retouching though.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 550 Posts, 9037 Comments
Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on July 26, 2014 at 12:02 PM
Hi Ron,

I have been running into these flowers whenever I visit prairie fens in early July. I like the details and the out of focus flower on the left adds some base to the composition. The subject is nicely focused and the granular features of the orchid have been preserved with your technique. Do you have any versions with a natural background?................................Jim
Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments
Comment posted by Ronald Davis on July 26, 2014 at 1:04 PM
Registered on July 4, 2014, 38 Posts, 48 Comments
Comment posted by Ronald Davis on July 26, 2014 at 1:13 PM
This is a response to Jim Zablotny's question. Yes, Jim, I have many photos of grass pink orchids showing other natural backgrounds including green vegetation, and may post one in due time. This photo was taken in the field against a natural background, even though that background shows as black. Note that this photo was taken by telephoto. The flower was in a wooded shrub heath area of bog (ombrotrophic; not fen) where there were many deep shadows. I positioned my camera so that the flower, intensely illuminated by sunlight was backed by an area of deep shadow, and exposed for the flower. The large difference in lighting rendered the shadow area as black, believe it or not! It IS a natural background. Ron
Registered on July 4, 2014, 38 Posts, 48 Comments
Comment posted by Giuseppe Guadagno on July 27, 2014 at 2:42 PM
It is surely the most widespread wilde orchid there, but here we have never seen it. It is an excellent portrait of this beautiful flower. Thans for sharing Ronald.
Take care.
Registered on February 3, 2007, 827 Posts, 5052 Comments