Cockscrew, hard rush

[Desmond Chan]

That's what the sign says they are. Not sure though as I think there're something else in the same pot.

D700 70-300f4.5-5.6 VRII @200mm on tripod. Manual exposure mode, manual focus. ISO 4000 f5.6 1/20s.

Slight crop. Darkened the background and the bottom. Shot after sunset. I chose not to correct the color in pp as I like it as is. This is basically what I saw on the screen - chimping I know - after the first shot hand-held. I was surprised by what I saw but liked it. So put the camera back on the tripod and took a couple more shots. Difficult to focus with either AF or MF.

So, what say you?

Thank you!!

[Lance Peters]

HI Desmond - I like it in a abstract type of way - has a slightly ALIEN feel to it :)
I would crop some from the bottom and clone out green patch on the RHS of the stem.

The truth is out there!!

Cool.

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Desmond,
I like this image...it does have an outer space feel to it...:) also just a little off the bottom...:cool:

[Gail Spitler]

Very effective. Personally I'd clone all the little guys and just leave the one star plant. ISO 4000 - I didn't even know that existed.
BTW it looks like it might be in the 'pitcher plant' family and might be an insectivore plant, making this all the more other worldly.
Cheers
Gail

[Alfred Forns]

Some kind of spooky !!! I like it

Composition wise would have liked the main flower a little further down and the one to the right even lower Love the planing and execution !!!

[Stuart Hill]

Just a quick one. It is a pitcher plant. Sarracenia Leucophilia or something close to it. Would make a nice fine art print.

regards.
Stu.

[Desmond Chan]

Composition wise would have liked the main flower a little further down and the one to the right even lower

Well, if I do that, Al, it means I have to do some cut and paste in pp because they're not my plants :) and they're considered endangered plant according to here:

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=h...num=1&ct=image

Thank you for the comments and suggestions ! Thank Stuart for the correction !

[Alfred Forns]

Desmond we are always talking theoretically and if possible on just about every image .... .sometimes we suggest pointing the camera more to the right to include a larger area but there was a big garbage can, or a lower angle and the person is standing on a concrete wall by the water's edge etc.

All suggestions given are just that, no one is suggesting to damage the plant ... remember people commenting on images are not physically there so comments are based on limited info and what is being presented. Your image with the three elements staggered would have been a much stronger image but as you pointed out not possible.

Even if you are not able to make the corrections someone could be in a similar situation and be able adjust its image based on given suggestions for this post. Many times shooting a little higher, lower, left, closer etc will alter perspective among elements.

[Desmond Chan]

All suggestions given are just that, no one is suggesting to damage the plant ... remember people commenting on images are not physically there so comments are based on limited info and what is being presented.

I knew that, Al. Perhaps I should have said it in a better way, but I was just trying to say this's not a studio shot as some here may be - in case some was wondering about this one - and so copy-and-paste after the fact would be the only way to alter the composition in my case.

As for the status of this plant, I didn't know the proper name of it at all - I thought I did - until Stuart's reply. I also did not know that's an endangered plant. After reading Stuart's reply, out of curiosity I did some research on the net and found that out. Just thought that may be an interesting piece of information for anyone to know about. I was just thinking: "What're the odds for anyone to come across an endangered plant?" I didn't even know plants could be endangered :) No particular meaning or agenda attached. But again may have said it in a better way.

[Bob Miller]

Hi Desmod....A very nice Halloween shot! I personally would take out the blurred images and make the big guy the star of a vertical crop

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Desmond Can't say that I have encountered an endangered plant !!! ... maybe I have but did not know what I was looking at :) ... you did the plant justice Big Congrats !!!

[Declan Troy]

There are quite a few endangered plants. Some are quite specialized and are normally rather rare or local. Others are constrained due to loss of habitat. Additional development, disease, grazing, or natural disturbances (you have those in Florida) can easily wipe out a small plant population. Currently in the US 716 flowering plants and 31 nonflowering plants have status as Endangered or Threatened.

[Desmond Chan]

There are quite a few endangered plants. Some are quite specialized and are normally rather rare or local. Others are constrained due to loss of habitat. Additional development, disease, grazing, or natural disturbances (you have those in Florida) can easily wipe out a small plant population. Currently in the US 716 flowering plants and 31 nonflowering plants have status as Endangered or Threatened.

Thanks for the info, Declan !

The reason I thought there would not be endangered plants was that I thought we could just plant those that are considered endangered. Obviously it's more complicated than that :)

[Declan Troy]

BTW, an interesting thing about pitcher plants is that they are carnivorous. The pitcher (the elongated tube you have photographed; our main subject is taken from the back but you can see the opening on a background plant) is lined with downward pointing "hairs" that interfere with insects climbing back out. The prey is digested in the liquid in the bottom of the picture and the nutrients absorbed by the plants. A specialization for nutrient poor environments.