Orchid Show No. 5

PAPHIOPEDILUM ORCHID, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Both photographs:
Pentax K-3
Tamron 90mm macro
Top: 1/8 second f5.6 ISO 200
Bottom: 1/13 second f5.6 ISO 400

Rather than buying another orchid from a vendor, as I did yesterday, I found two more specimens of the Lady's-Slipper Orchid in the reflecting pool hallway of the Regenstein Center at the Botanic Garden and photographed them in situ from different angles.

Orchid Show No. 4

PAPHIOPEDILUM ORCHID, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 27, 2016

Pentax K-01
Pentax 35mm f2.4
1.5 sec. f22
ISO 200

I bought this Lady's Slipper Orchid from a vendor at the Botanic Garden's annual Orchid Show, took it home, and set it up on the dining room table with a black velvet background and the camera on a tripod. Using a poor man's photo studio is a lot easier than trying to find a good subject in the wild.

Orchid Show No. 3

ORCHID, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 20, 2016

Pentax K-01
Sigma 18-250 macro at 105mm
1 sec. f11
ISO 200

This specimen (I don't know the variety either) "doesn't look right," Debby said when she saw it on my computer monitor. The odd red splotches do look as if they're out of focus, but they're not. One of the tough things about Jack Carlson's orchid photography class is that we must shoot only the flowers that are displayed in the Orchid Show, as if they're in the wild. No setting up of individual blooms in the studio is allowed. That forces us to use our camera controls to the utmost.

Orchid Show No. 2

ORCHID, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 20, 2016

Pentax K-01
90mm Tamron macro with 1.4x Pentax extender (126mm)
1/10 sec. f8
ISO 200

A longer shot of the same orchid (it's on the bottom) in yesterday's offering.

Orchid Show No. 1

ORCHID, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 20, 2016

Pentax K-3
90mm Tamron macro with 1.4x Pentax extender (126mm) and off-camera flash
1/6 sec. f11
ISO 200

This was taken for Jack Carlson's orchid photography class, held in conjunction with the annual Orchid Show at Chicago Botanic Garden. It was a tough assignment because he ordered no post processing or cropping, forcing his students to do all their artistry with the camera alone. That teaches patience and discipline. (No idea what variety this specimen is.)