Epidendrum Orchids

One of the more unusual types of orchids I photographed on my recent visit to Longwood Gardens‘ Orchid Extravaganza was a series of Epidendrum orchids.  According to the sign in the Palm House, epidendrums are native to Central America.  They often grow alongside other flowers such as mildweed and lantana – mimicing the shape and color of those flowers.

What I found so unusual about the Epidendrums was the shape of their flowers. Each has what appears to be a fringed lip on one of its petals. The flowers on each Epidendrum were slightly different colors and shapes than all of the others. Most had shades of red or orange.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

I really likd this set of flowers – it shows a bud, an unfolding flower and one fully open.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

This epidendrum’s flowers were all bright yellow. I was able to photograph lit by the sunlight streaming through the glass of the Palm House.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

I found this last Epindendrum with it’s purple and white flowers in the Tropical Terrace.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

According to Wikipedia, there are over 1100 different species of Epidendrum. The ones at Longwood were not identified as being any particular species. Does anyone know which species any of the Epidendrums I photographed are? Looking at some images online, I think some of the red/orange ones may be Epidendrum radicans.

A Few More Slipper Orchids – Paphiopedilium Orchids

Here are a few more slipper orchids (paphiopedilium orchids) that I’ve photographed recently. The first four of them were on display as part of Longwood Garden’s Orchid Extravaganza.

Paphiopedilium Hybrid Orchid (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Paphiopedilium Hybrid Orchid (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Paphiopedilium Hybrid Orchid (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Paphiopedilium Hybrid Orchid (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

This final paphiopedilium orchid was photographed in the Orchid room at the U.S. Botanic Garden.

Paphiopedilium Emperor of India Orchid (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

I’m always amazed at all the different combinations of spots, stripes, color and shapes of the paphipedilium orchids.

Big Leaf Hydrangeas – Hydrangea Macrophylla Regula

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

On my recent trip to Longwood Gardens, I got a great dose of summer when I spotted several beds of Big Leaf Hydrangeas (hydrangea macrophylla regula) in the East Conservatory.

Unlike the hydrangeas that I photographed last summer which were large bushes, the big leaf hydrangeas at Longwood were small compact plants with blossoms very close to the ground. In the four beds of Big Leaf Hydrangeas, there was an incredible variety of blossom colors. Here are a few of the colors I saw.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief dose of summer. Remember only a few more months until hydrangeas will be blooming outdoors again!

Slipper Orchids – Paphiopedilium

One of the displays at Longwood Garden’s Orchid Extravaganza that I really enjoyed was the Slipper Orchids (paphiopedilium orchids). They were displayed in Fern Passage Greenhouse. Each of several different Slipper Orchids was displayed on a pedestal in a group of about dozen of the same type of orchid.

Here are some of the Slipper Orchids on display the day I visited Longwood.

Paphiopedilium Henrietta Fujiwara Orchid  (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Paphiopedilium Hybrid Orchid (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Paphiopedilium Delenatii Orchid (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Paphiopedilium Honey Orchid (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Paphiopedilium Hybrid Orchid (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

I’ll post a few more of the Paphiopedilium Orchids later in the week – don’t want this post to take too long to load.

Photography Links – February 20, 2009

A few links this week

DPS has a post on Taking Manual Control Over Your Digital Camera

Paul Indigo has a post on Photo Sharing Sites Grab Rights to Sell Images

Pieces of the Picture has a post on Proper Care and Handling of CF and SD cards

TWIP has posts on How to Get the Most Out of a Photo Workshop and Getting Permission to Photograph People

And for DC area photographers – a couple of photowalks are being planned

Shawn Duffy is hosting a Nightime photowalk of the DC Monuments on March 7

Geoff Greene is hosting one in Fredericksburg VA on March 8.

Orchid Extravaganza at Longwood Gardens

Last week, I finally got a chance to get up to the Orchid Extravaganza at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. All I can say – is that it is incredible! The conservatory is filled with all sorts of incredible orchids.

I expected to see orchids in the main conservatory and in the Orchid House. What I didn’t expect – was all the smaller orchid displays throughout the various conservatories.

One of the first surprises was the Orchid Mobile in the East Conservatory. Created by kinetic artist Henry Loustau, the rotating stainless steel mobile includes a wonderful display of orchids.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

As I walked towards the Music Room, the display in the fountain courtyard amazed me.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

A curtain of orchids drapes over the doors into the music room.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

In front of the music room, orchid topped fountains on pillars are set up in the pool.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

One other major orchid display really caught my eye. In the Cascade Garden, a waterfall of Oncidium orchids i son display.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

I’ll be posting photos of some of the individual orchid displays over the next few weeks.

The Orchid Extravaganza at Longwood Gardens runs through March 31. If you get a chance, be sure to take a few hours and visit the orchid displays. I’m planning on making at least one more trip to Longwood Gardens before the exhibit ends.

Poppy Anemone – Anemone Coronaria

On a recent visit to Longwood Gardens, I photographed some Poppy Anemones (Anemone Coronaria) in along the Garden Path in the East Conservatory. I loved seeing all the different colors of flowers growing on the same plant.

Among the various colors of flowers were light pink

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Bright pink

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Red

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Purple

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

and pale purple

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

If you get a chance to visit Longwood Gardens in the next few weeks, be sure to check out the Poppy Anemones. They are gorgeous.

Sunrise in the Alabama Hills

On our last morning in California, we headed out from Lone Pine to the Alabama Hills for sunrise. We were hoping to not only photograph the sunrise, but also the mountains through some of the rock arches.

It was a very cold morning with a bit of a hike in the dark to get to where we were going to be photographing from. But it was worth it.

Here’s the mountains to the east of us, as the sky was lighting up from the rising sun.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Most of the group photographed  through one of the larger arches. Natalie showed a couple of us a smaller arch, where we could get great photos of Mt. Whitney framed by the arch. Here’s Mt. Whitney is purple and pink dawn light.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

As the sun rose, the light on the mountains was incredible. The arch made a perfect frame for the photo.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

A little ways down the hill from the arch, I had a great view of the light moving across the mountains and the rocks. The contrast of the colors between the rocks that were lit by the sun and those that were still in shadow was fascinating.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Once the sun was fully up, the rocks lit up in amazing shades of gold, yellow and orange.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

As I was packing up my gear (and ready to head back into town for breakfast) I noticed that Bill and Alain were still up on the rocks photographing the mountains. It was so windy that morning that Bill only used his digital camera, he never took his large format camera out of the case.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

The sunrise and early morning photo shoot was a perfect ending to our trip to Death Valley and the Alabama Hills. We had a fantastic time with Alain and Natalie Briot, and all of the other photographers on the trip. Hopefully, we’ll see some of them again in December when we attend Alain and Natalie’s White Sands and Bosque del Apache workshop!

Photography Links – February 13, 2009

Just a few links this week

Digital Photography School has a post on How to Photograph Coastlines.

Women on the Road has a post from Peter Liu on Digital Travel Photography: Easier than Ever.

Epic Edits has Your Complete Guide to Photo Backups.

Ron Niebrugge has a 2009 Anza-Borrego Wildflower Forecast.

The Deets has a post about how the CityPages Paper of Minneapolis misuses photos.

PhotoWalkPro has a post on food photography.

A Few Varieties of Hippeastrum

Recently, I’ve photographed several flowers that I’ve always thought were called Amaryllis. It turns out, they are actually Hippeastrums. They are a bulb that blooms indoors in winter months. Both Amaryllis and Hippeastrum are members of the Amarylidaceae family.

The first Hippeastrum I photographed is a variety named Vera.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

The next one is a spectacular red flower called Red Lion.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

The third one is very different from other hippeastrums I’ve seen. Instead of the large petals, the Chico Hippeastrum has very thin petals, which gives the flower an entirely different look.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins