Third Week of the Native Orchid Season

[ronaldhanko]

Hi Steve,
Glad you know something of our area. Amazing place, isn't it? As to the old stuff called "film" that's what I used for many years and still miss it in certain ways.
The 100mm shots are almost all taken with a tripod and my Canon 100mm macro (my wife has the Tamron 90mm). My old hands aren't very steady anymore, but it's easier to use a tripod anyway when down at ground level and in light that isn't always very good.
The 200mm shots were probably my wife's with her 18-200mm f/3.5. I am quite impressed by that lens and she really likes it. The f/2.8 was a bit out of our price range and she likes a telephoto. I'm struggling with an old 17-85 that has had a lot of mechanical problems and a 70-300mm DO lens that I bought because of its compact size but am not that happy with. Would like to get something else, but can't afford it at the moment.

[samarak]

It is an amazing area. Our first trip to the Seattle area was in March or April, and the skunk cabbages were blooming. I have a thing for the Araceae as well as the Orchidaceae, and I stopped at nearly every group of more than a few skunk cabbages as we circled the entire Olympic peninsula. Somewhere in the back room I must have hundreds of 35mm slides of Lysichiton inflorescences. (They lost their charm for my wife after about the 3rd stop.)

Since then we've been back at various times in spring and summer. Such a rich flora, so much to see.

I hadn't considered the telephoto 200mm - maybe I'll take another look. I need something for birds and other wildlife where I can't get as close as I'd like. Is your wife using the Canon or the Sigma?

Steve

[ronaldhanko]

Your love for Skunk cabbages is like my wife's she couldn't pass one up for anything. You are right, too, about the Olympic Peninsula and its flora. There are some amazing areas where we've spent hours photographing the wildflowers. One area that sticks in my mind has millions of Avalanche Lilies that carpet the hillsides. As to the lens, its the Canon version. I like the lens but 200mm is a little short for most birds and a lot of wildlife.

[theroc1217]

I'm really hoping to get up to Duluth,MN to catch the Lady Slippers this year. It's the only nearby spot I've been able to find with natural orchid growth in MN.

[Discus]

Originally Posted by samarak

I hadn't considered the telephoto 200mm - maybe I'll take another look. I need something for birds and other wildlife where I can't get as close as I'd like. Is your wife using the Canon or the Sigma?

I think you mean "zoom" (if you're also referring to the lens Ron was talking about) - "telephoto" generally means (to photographers) anything that is longer than a "normal" lens (50mm for 35mm film and sensors) - and technically, one whose physical length is shorter than its focal length.

Pedantry aside, zoom lenses are pretty handy things, but you'll often find a prime ("fixed") lens has slightly better optical performance.

Skunk cabbages really take me back to my youth in New Jersey (I lived in New Providence from ~1985-1988)

[ronaldhanko]

Thanks for commenting.

[samarak]

Discus, you are of course correct on the terminology.

My personal experience is also that prime lenses deliver better pictures than zoom lenses. I've been so pleased with my 100mm f/2.8 that it seemed natural to look at the 200mm f/2.8 as well. I agree with Ron that 200mm is not long enough that most people think of it as a wildlife or bird lens, but it happens that I have a lot of opportunities in that range and the 300mm and longer lenses are out of budget, at least if I want really high optical quality.

I don't want to hijack this thread to technical photography discussion, especially since most people don't use 200mm and longer lenses for orchids, but if there are 300-500mm lenses that you like for the Canon DSLRs that are both reasonably priced and not subject to the distortion I see in the low-end ones, I'd love to hear about them.

Steve

[The Orchid Boy]

Lovely photos!

I may have the chance to go to Duluth, MN or Glacier National Park, MT and would love to see native orchids in either place, especially cypripediums. What months would it be best to go to either place?

[ronaldhanko]

Originally Posted by The Orchid Boy

Lovely photos!

I may have the chance to go to Duluth, MN or Glacier National Park, MT and would love to see native orchids in either place, especially cypripediums. What months would it be best to go to either place?

In Glacier you will probably find Cyp. montanum and Cyp. parviflorum in flower in late June to early July. In the Duluth area, you can probably find three, Cyp. candidum, Cyp. parviflorum, and Cyp. reginae. The first will be early and is probably blooming now, the second will be blooming from now into July and the third June and July.

[theroc1217]

Correct, I was there in early June, and one set had just finished blooming, and the other was in spike. There's a great colony at Jay Cooke park. The attendants and park rangers at the main building should be able to tell you where it is.