Showy Lady's-slippers

My field guide for wild orchids of the Northeastern United States indicates Cypripedium reginae is occasional in New York.  They seem more rare than occasional.  Seeing them is always exciting.  Here's why. In groups they are spectacular.

Individual plants often host interesting little critters.  This little spider refused to come around to the shady side of the leaf; likely the dew had evaporated from his sunny side.

When I look closely at the blooms, I discover even more of interest. Flying insects best be wary when they enter the flower.

Cypripedium reginae doesn't live in a  mono-culture, so there are interesting complementary plants like this Water Avens, Geum rivale, whose flower is now growing into a spiky seed head. 

It just seems to me that when I am photographing these orchids, I see faces such as in this portrait of two ladies with friends beyond. 

I see the resemblance to slippers, but I still see faces first.  It affects how I approach the composition.

Paul

Spring Wildflowers!

My love for nature photography began with landscapes. That is never more apparent than when the emerging colors of spring destroy the muted winter colors. Recently I revisited Lick Brook for both waterfalls and spring wildflowers where I found this magical scene with the first bits of spring green in the trees.  (Yes, my feet got wet getting to this spot. It was worth it.)

At one time this spring,  I went looking for birds with a big telephoto lens and found something unexpected that needed a wider view. What to do?  Why, pull out my iPhone and take the photo.  So it was that this renegade bunch of daffodils appeared in a wooded area.

I transformed the image to match the impression it made on me using the Mobile Monet app.

Sometimes the wildflowers are just outside my door.  I have a 4-foot square garden in a sheltered corner by our sun room. The quiet corner seems to encourage early blooming like seen in this Purple Trillium.

So, I've become so intrigued with testing my ability to capture a workable image with the iPhone, that I am becoming too lazy to switch to a wide angle lens when I see an expansive image like these Virginia Bluebells. With the small size of the camera phone, I can set the camera right on the ground and see the world like a bug.  Edited again with Mobile Monet.

Virginia Bluebells seem to have a changeable personality depending on the type of light.  During the same shoot, I found this, again from a bug's perspective.

Spring also brings a rich yellow and green display to the marshy areas when the Celandine Poppy blooms. 

Saving my favorite image for last, I found this lush Trillium grandiflorum on a leafy hillside in the Mundy Wildflower Garden at Cornell Plantations on a beautiful spring morning.

Now, if I did not have a lawn to mow, I could be out there right now looking for more beautiful finds. Maybe you can take my place?

Paul Schmitt