The world within Photo

Photographer’s Note

Orchids have fascinated people since the beginning of time. For centuries they have served as symbols of love, beauty and luxury. They have been regarded as aphrodisiacs and were even one of the main ingredients in love potions. Greeks believed they were a symbol of virility. Orchids were called “The plant of the King's Fragrance” by the Chinese as long ago as the time of Confucius. Orchids played a role as herbal remedies in the middle ages. At the beginning of the 18th century, collecting orchids was a practice in many parts of the world. Their attractive rare blooms and fragrances kept people interested in collecting and discovering these beautiful plants. A few orchids had been imported from remote lands by British sea captains. Botanists and wealthy society were enticed by and curious about orchids. In 1818, William Cattley became the first person to bloom an orchid. The orchid craze incited the mining of forests for orchids. An English botanist wrote in 1878, “Not satisfied with taking 300 or 500 specimens of a fine orchid, they must scour the whole country and leave nothing for miles. This is no longer collecting; this is wanton robbery.”

I took this photo of a Phalaenopsis aphrodite orchid (native to Southeast Taiwan and the Philippines) using a Nikkor Micro 200 mm lens with extension tubes. The detail visible in the picture is about 3 cm across. It was backlit to bring out the sense of translucency and I used a small amount of fill-flash to lighten details of the flower.
The main visible strucure is the "labellum" or lip, a modified petal which serves to attract insects and acts as a landing stage.

The generic name Phalaenopsis means “Phalaen[a]-like” and is probably a reference to the genus Phalaena, the name given by Carolus Linnaeus to a group of large moths; the flowers of some species supposedly resemble moths in flight. For this reason, the species are sometimes called Moth orchids.

chiaretta, sevy, johannes68, Merline, jorgi, Dyerco, carlab, wishlist, mpb001, Hellas, mariandrea has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

totoamoto (2260) 2008-02-29 4:44

Salut John..
La nature ..
Quelle beauté..La lumière en transparence.. L'image très nette..
On voit la texture de cette fleur..
Incroyable.
Cyril

chiaretta (1893) 2008-02-29 4:51

Ciao John,
non sono una fan sfegatata del macro, ma questa composizione è davvero superba: la nitidezza perfetta del cuore, con i colori brillanti quasi carnosi, e il contorno dei petali così lieve e trasparente... un velo.
Chiara

MarianneS (14262) 2008-02-29 4:52

Hello John,
I am impressed by the perfect sharpness of your photo.
It is incredible!
You offer us so precise details on this fascinating flower!
Your composition and title add a great dimension to this.
Congratulations and TFS! Marianne

sevy (12961) 2008-02-29 5:03

Hello John,

Very good job for this marco photo. I am a little impresse by the result knowing the photo was taken at f/32. I was expecting a more degradated picture at such diaphragme closure.
The backlighting brings a lot playing with the transparency.
The central composition plays with the symetry of the flower and fits well to the subject.

At final, a very good photo,

Yves.

Paolo (40655) 2008-02-29 5:28

Ciao John, complimenti per questa macro perfetta, sia per qualità, luce e colori che per forma.
la luce che filtra attraverso la sottile membrana dell'orchidea e illumina l'obbiettivo è stupenda!
ciao

CatherineD (4827) 2008-02-29 9:46

Bonsoir John,
Très impressionnante photo macro, prise au coeur de l'orchidée, avec la lumière qui traverse la fleur. Fameux boulot pour arriver à ce résultat!
Amicalement,
Catherine

brandstaetter (13758) 2008-02-29 12:56

Hi John,
it´s not easy to photograph a plant in a way that it seems to be a living thing, a being... you did it.
Compliments, Chris

johannes68 (2856) 2008-03-01 3:59

Hi John,
fine and fascitating light and colours - it looks so transparent and fragile, and the light from the back intensifies this impression. You really managed to capture the fascination of the orchid!
Regards, Johannes

Merline (6574) 2008-03-01 4:38

Compliments John! On the thumbnail I loved the title and was wondering what it would be. I am not disappointed. Great choice of subject it is indeed a whole world you show us. It stands there on its own and I could plunge into it, imagine that, what a luscious feeling, it's so delicate yet strong, vivid yet fine-tuned colors. I love the way you've centered it and the texture of the background is great as are the plays of light. Poetic image. Somehow it makes me think of an angel's wings...
Superb.

TFS
Take care
Michèle

jorgi (3798) 2008-03-01 5:01

Hi John,

I'm glad to see some new photos from you. And what a photo! It seems like looking into the soul itself, into the pure essence of being. Gentle and superbly texturazed surfaces with felt fragments of moisture, divine colour palette and masterly presented depthness. It feels so fragile but so divine. Marvelous John. My compliments!

Kind regards,
Jeri
PS my compliments also for your webpage and a pair of beautiful green eyes :)

amaryllis (17131) 2008-03-01 5:24

bonjour
superbe et excellent résultat de cette magnifique fleur très harmonieuse et une netteté incroyable
on peut laisser courir notre imagination...
tres belle composition
juliette

Dyerco (8908) 2008-03-01 8:18

Great shot John. This macro has wonderful detail and the backlighting is superb. Just for fun. Convert it to B&W and use the inverse filter to see what you get.
Congrats on a great photo.
Phil

carper (64194) 2008-03-02 12:56

yes I remember a shot of mine of this fantastic flower, This is a nice one John, good pov and a marvelous close up shot, the macro is well taken with a fine quality I love it, have a nice evening.
gr. jaap

carlab (2087) 2008-03-03 6:13

ciao John, anche se le orchidee non sono il mio fiore preferito (almeno non quelle che si vendono dai fiorai), devo dirti che questa foto è bellissima, oltre che tecnicamente perfetta. Mi piace molto l'idea della luce, e la simmetria perfettamente centrata che evidenzia le asimmetrie della natura
bravo
Carla

wishlist (4133) 2008-03-03 6:56

John,
this is one of the best macro I've seen so far on TE. It's just beautiful your shot with the light so well handled to deliver a great result. The 3d effect looking at this picture is something that really strikes my eyes along the beautiful soft tones and the perfect symmetry. Truly beautiful shot..I like it a lot!
Thanks for sharing it and have a great week!
Take care

Igor

Clementi (43023) 2008-03-04 12:03

Ciao John ,
bellissima macro molto ricca di particolari e di bei colori talmente definita da poterci studiare
ottimo lavoro
Giorgio

Signal-Womb (11614) 2008-03-08 6:11

This is a superb capture John. Effective DOF and beautiful light gives a fantastic result. The fact that its the Orchid makes it even more special. Very nice work.

mpb001 (4600) 2008-03-15 8:54

Hi John,
Very beautiful composition. The symmetry of the petals is super. I like the overall soft tone in color with the red accents.
Mike

Polonaise (5629) 2008-05-09 7:22

Now...
That's beauty...

Macro at its best...
Charging our senses (perhaps?) more powerfully than charging elephant !!!

Those creamy yellows in there...?
Out of this world...

hat off

george

Hellas (5099) 2008-10-18 13:38

Hello John,
I may say that I have enjoyed very much this beautiful work! Handling very well the light, the equipment and the aperture in order to have excellent depth of field, the result is pleasing! The suggestion and its fulfilment created an incredible exhibition!

Amazed, indeed!
Thank you all!

Greetings from Greece,
Athanasios.