Bee Flower

Just Dave

Just Dave

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Went for a walk around Birkacre, today and we found this beautiful Bee Orchid, wild flower, difficult to get a shot of it stand 4 0r 5" high

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Dave
 
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Never seen anything like that flower before, where exactly is Birkacre Dave? Thanks :)
 
Hiya Dave,

Wow that is absolutely amazing and beautiful. It looks just like a bee is sitting on the flower.

The colours and detail you have captured are beautiful and do justice to such a gorgeous flower.

I have made note of the settings you used .... which seem similar to the trick your taught me. Did you fire flash at minus compensation for this one? If so I would have perhaps expected a slightly darker background ... but would that have something to do with the ISO 400?

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
Molly47 said:
Never seen anything like that flower before, where exactly is Birkacre Dave? Thanks :)
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Oooops sorry Carole forgot to give you a link Google Map its in burgh meadow, they are usually found all over this area they are tiny and hard to spot, A is where the one I took the image off, its not far from the bench, just off the path, good luck find some, theres lots of other orchids (7 species) in that meadow also


drodd said:
Hiya Dave,

Wow that is absolutely amazing and beautiful. It looks just like a bee is sitting on the flower.

The colours and detail you have captured are beautiful and do justice to such a gorgeous flower.

I have made note of the settings you used .... which seem similar to the trick your taught me. Did you fire flash at minus compensation for this one? If so I would have perhaps expected a slightly darker background ... but would that have something to do with the ISO 400?

Cheers

Dawn :)
Click to expand...

Thanks very much Dawn for taking the time to look and comment its much appreciated, yes -2 flash compensation, background tone is usually dark but it was a very bright day

A few facts about the bee orchid

The bee orchid is a self pollinating flower, over the years it built up to resemble the furry bodies of the female bee, the orchid attracts male pollinators by producing the sex pheromone/allomone (from the yellow nodules you can see in the photo) of virgin female bee pollinators in addition to providing visual and tactile cues, when the male bees emerge (which are first to emerge from hibernation) they are attracted to the female bee form and even try to copulate with them thus carrying pollen from one to another,

The allomone is a mixture of alkenes and alkanes,

Thanks again for your kind comments
 
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Hiya Dave,

Thanks for adding the interesting information about the flowers (y)

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
Nice one Dave that is a great shot! (y)

A question on technique, are you using your on camera pop up flash or are you using a flash gun mounted on the hot shoe? I suspect the later and I need to get one myself really.

Love the colours and vibrancy of the shot, you nailed the DOF and everything is pin sharp, excellent shot! (y)
 
drodd said:
Hiya Dave,

Thanks for adding the interesting information about the flowers (y)

Cheers

Dawn :)
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Pleased you found it interesting (y)

mei1 said:
lovely shot
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Thank you very muchly (y)

DeeJay said:
Nice one Dave that is a great shot! (y)

A question on technique, are you using your on camera pop up flash or are you using a flash gun mounted on the hot shoe? I suspect the later and I need to get one myself really.

Love the colours and vibrancy of the shot, you nailed the DOF and everything is pin sharp, excellent shot! (y)
Click to expand...

Yes Dave with the popup flash although sometimes I do use my flashgun.

thanks for your kind comments (y)
 
Thanks for the link Dave, I don't know the area at all but with a little research from me I no doubt will have an interesting place to visit in the future :)

Its always good when other members of the forum can point us towards places of interest not far from our own homes, I don't know if there is already a 'sticky' somewhere but it might be an idea for the future.
 
Molly47 said:
Thanks for the link Dave, I don't know the area at all but with a little research from me I no doubt will have an interesting place to visit in the future :)

Its always good when other members of the forum can point us towards places of interest not far from our own homes, I don't know if there is already a 'sticky' somewhere but it might be an idea for the future.
Click to expand...

(y)
 
Molly47 said:
Thanks for the link Dave, I don't know the area at all but with a little research from me I no doubt will have an interesting place to visit in the future :)

Its always good when other members of the forum can point us towards places of interest not far from our own homes, I don't know if there is already a 'sticky' somewhere but it might be an idea for the future.
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Hi Carole

The best place to park is at the main visitors center Clicky Google Map behind that theres 3 lakes, and a weir and rivers, yarrow valley is a massive place, and has a wealth of bird/wildlife, insects, because of all the varying habitats, also many species of wild flowers/fungi, and fab scenery.

I took Dawn there and she was amazed by it, and I think has visited many times since,

Dave
 
Just Dave said:
Hi Carole

The best place to park is at the main visitors center Clicky Google Map behind that theres 3 lakes, and a weir and rivers, yarrow valley is a massive place, and has a wealth of bird/wildlife, insects, because of all the varying habitats, also many species of wild flowers/fungi, and fab scenery.

I took Dawn there and she was amazed by it, and I think has visited many times since,

Dave
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Hiya Carole,

Indeed, as Dave said, I have been to Yarrow Valley a few times now ... I love the place and can spend hours there as there is so much to photograph from fungi, plants, birds, landscape, people/candid shots and there are also times when there are sports, i.e., kayaking on the main lake and then they head to the river and kayak downstream. I know that Euxton Canoe Club meet there, here is a link to their diary http://www.euxtoncanoeclub.co.uk/drupal/?q=ecc-date-browser with dates/times when they are at Birkacre which I thought might help if you are planning a day out there.

I got some kayaking shots there on a previous visit and posted a thread here on TP for advice on how to improve on taking such action shots as all the photos are OOF. So hopefully soon I will be able to visit there on one of the dates to try to put my learning into practice :D

If you get chance to visit Yarrow, it may be an idea to pack a drink and something to eat as you will no doubt find yourself spending a good few hours there.

Also the weir is a great place for some lovely water shots. One can climb down to the river, but it is a bit of a steep climb and can be a bit slippy, but well worth it for the great shots one can get.

As Dave mentioned there are 3 lakes ... and at the two smaller lakes one can get some fantastic water reflection photos.

The best thing about Yarrow it is a place that one can visit all year round and as the seasons change provides opportunity for different scenes and settings.

Thanks Dave for posting the link here for others to see, and thanks too for introducing me to the valley. It is always great to meet you if you have time when I am on a visit there. I'll let you know when next I will be over that way .... looking at the Canoe Club Diary I may plan a day out in the next few weeks so I can have a go at taking some kayaking shots again (obviously weather dependant).

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
Thanks Dawn, let me know when your going I'll try to meet you there (y)

Sure Carole or anyone else will find lots of photographic opportunities there, Ive been going there since I was a child and still find new things,
 
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