Pink Lady's Slipper

[Ed Vatza]

This image was made early on an overcast Monday morning along the Witch Hole Pond Carriage Road in Acadia National Park. The previous day we had walked this carriage road in the rain with a group from the Acadia Birding Festival. Cameras were left behind and binoculars brought in their place. By this time, I had been searching in vain for Lady's Slippers for almost a week. Suddenly while watching a Piliated Woodpecker do her stuff, I looked down and there right along the side of the road was a Pink Lady's Slipper. A little further on, I spotted a second. So early the next morning, my wife and I schlepped off in search of the two. We managed to relocate both of them and I was able to get down in the run-off and photograph both.

Backgrounds were pretty busy so I had to open up the aperture in order to blur the background.

Canon 30D; Sigma 150mm Macro lens; tripod-mounted

1/40 sec at f/5.0; ISO 800; -1/3 EV (that should be an indication of how overcast it was)

[John Lowin]

Ed, I like the sharpness of your image. For my taste, it could stand a bit more room to the left and on top. I raise these Cypripedium acaule in my growing room and feel the image is pretty over saturated. Unless this is new natural hybrid, they are usually quite a bit paler. I envy your seeing them in the wild, enjoy them. Here is an image of one of mine in bloom. - John

[Julie Kenward]

Ed, I think the flower is lovely! I feel it could use a bit of CW rotation to even out the two sides. I don't love the BG but it's certainly not the worst - might tone down the blue tint to the couple of spots and then select the BG and move the midtone slider to the left a bit - I think that will help leave you with a "normal" BG but have it be less competing for the attention in the image.

Good to have you back!

[Ed Vatza]

Unless this is new natural hybrid, they are usually quite a bit paler.

John, I did nothing to boost saturation in this image. As a matter of fact I was wondering about the color because the other one I found in the wild was quite a bit paler.

This one was shot at f/4.0

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Ed. Glad you were able to find some orchids to work with. The flower is nicely isolated from its surroundings, but I would like to see more DOF on the flower itself (and I fully appreciate what that does to the background :( ). Did you experiment with some different f-stops? I would also suggest warming the color balance a little to change the blue-green tone of the background.

[Ed Vatza]

but I would like to see more DOF on the flower itself (and I fully appreciate what that does to the background :( ). Did you experiment with some different f-stops?

I would have too. I did push it all the way to f/8 :eek::D but at the point the fern fronds were starting to come through much more clearly than I would like. I had my manicuring/landscaping tools in the bag but National Park Service tends to frown on that sort of activity!