In Memoriam of Summer

By tditzgb written 11/27/07 8:59 AM, published 11/27/07 8:59 AM
I woke up to a howling wind and snow on the ground for the first time today and had to face the fact that Summer is long gone. So, in memory of the warm season, I thought I'd share a photo from the early part of Summer when thewild orchid blooms grace the Ridges Sanctuary on Wisconsin's Door Co. Peninsula.

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  • Penny 11/27/07 11:05 AM
    Pretty flower. I like the shot but would suggest a closer crop so the flower is in better view.

    - Smile


  • Bugsy 11/27/07 11:22 AM
    I'm with Penny. Something to look forward to trying next summer.

    - Just trying to bee..


  • tditzgb 11/27/07 1:38 PM
    Hmmm...I had considered zooming in closer but in my experience I've found that this generally results in a photo like you'd see in a field guide dedicated to flower identification. I was shooting for something less clinical. I prefer to show a bit of the flower's surroundings in order to give the viewer a sense of it's environment.

  • kitzi 11/27/07 4:37 PM
    the beautiful flower gets lost in the surrounding vegetation...maybe not a real close crop, but just a bit.

    - ©kitzi


  • MRQUACKERS 11/27/07 11:52 PM
    A pretty flower. I agree a tighter crop might set the flower off more. But I, also, agree that it is nice to see it in 'context'. It's a fine line between the two.

    - A quack with an camera


  • bugaboo 11/29/07 3:19 AM
    I like the composition. To me the flower stands out nicely, I like Kitzi's idea.

  • BEARPHOTO 11/29/07 7:32 AM
    I like it in it's element. Back east we call them Lady Slippers.

  • tditzgb 11/29/07 12:50 PM
    I'm glad I'm not totally alone in my thinking that presenting the orchid flower "in it's element" is a legitimate and pleasing composition. I'm quite surprised by the reaction..or lack of it...to this photo. I actually composed it based on the work of several other nature photogs including some who's work is considered top notch. I took every comment under advisement but for the most part, I'm sticking to my guns on this one...

  • chrissy63 11/29/07 1:07 PM
    I really like that you left it in it's element. It is a story on it's own and I totally understand what you were doing. A treaure in the weeds, you don't see that often. Most can't cutivate orchards under the most careful circumstance, let alone one growing without cultivation. I think it is a great find and a great photo. :)

    - Walking on Sunshine


  • msjudi 11/29/07 7:47 PM
    closer would be better .. pretty orchard

    - Smile ; )


  • The Old Guy 5/25/08 8:54 PM

    Well I'll be! We always called them Lady Slippers too, and so they are! But looky here all of us easterners:

    Lady Slippers (aka Lady's Slipper, Lady's-slipper, Ladyslipper) is a term used to describe the orchids in the subfamily Cypripedioidea, which includes the genera Cypripedium, Mexipedium, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium and Selenipedium, distinguished by their slipper-shaped pouches (modified labellums), which function by trapping insects so that they are forced to climb up past the staminode, behind which they collect or deposit pollinia. -Wikipedia-

    tditzgb you may never see this as I am commenting on a really old post, but what the heck. It was only last November. I missed seeing it then. Love these tags! 

    By the way, I like it as shot. Only maybe just a little closer. As is it is, it is nicely done. 

    - say it with photos