After I took that wrong turn last week and missed the yellow lady’s slipper in the Holyoke Range, the two friends who told me about it mentioned someone in a nearby town with a forest garden that contains one and offered to take me there. We did that yesterday.
The garden, which at first I thought was all natives but is not, is full of lovely species including some trilliums and another lady’s slipper that I will photograph next year as it was a bit past fresh and starting to brown…I’m such a snob. 🙂
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
This is one of the most amazing and beautiful floral portraits I’ve ever seen! Pure joy 🙂
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Thanks, Liz! I am so happy you like this as you do. 🙂
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Wonderful shot, this is my favorite wild orchid.
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Thanks, Rudi. It is among my favorites.. Hard to pick one.
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Those twisting leaves (bracts?) are a great touch. And there’s that yellow heart of a flower.
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Those are actually petals. The one pointing upwards is a dorsal sepal. The somewhat triangular yellow part pointing down is a staminode and the sac is a labellum. No daisy this orchid.
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Lovely!
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Thanks, Ellen!
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The bright yellow of the flower looks great on the dark green background of its leaves.
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It was perfect light for this, light overcast, so the yellow exuded light and the green absorbed. Thanks, Peter.
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Beautiful! High standards are admirable. 🙂
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Thanks, Eliza! Sometimes aging flowers are beautiful too but there was just something about the white ones that didn’t appeal.
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What a beautiful flower portrait! 🙂
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Thanks, Ann. I am happy the image does the plant justice. 🙂
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I think the plant would be happy too, hehe!
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Stunning
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Thank you, Khürt!
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Lovely, Steve. I’m glad you found it. Your post makes me want to go and look for one of these flowers in the woods, but they are exceedingly difficult to find.
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Thanks! They are difficult to find here also, Tanja. There are some in a couple of well known spots but one of those did not materialize this year and, as mentioned before, I took the wrong path for the other. It was luck that I had FB friends who knew of this garden and that the property owner is so willing to share.
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I hope you do find some in your woods walks.
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Thank you, Steve, I hope so, too.
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I’m glad you found this for two reasons. One is that it’s gorgeous, and your photo is splendid, and I’m happy to see it again. I remembered those ‘corkscrews’ from previous years. They’re one of my favorite parts of the plant.
The second reason is that you’ve jolted me into looking at the dates of my orchid photos from last year. If I want to see them, I’d better get up to east Texas — just as soon as the rain stops and the flooding eases.
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Oh, I do hope you find some in your travels, Linda. And I also hope your rain lets up so you can look for them although I am sure the rain is much needed there and supplants the importance of seeing orchids.We could use some here ourselves.
Those twisty petals are almost as stunning as the sacs themselves. My next post will have some interesting petals but in a different way.
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I love everything about this image!
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Thank you, Carol. I’ve made quite a few photographs of this flower over the years but this has become my favorite.
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This is absolutely gorgeous, Steve. I love the way those twisty parts are a yellower green than the surrounding foliage. And the black background is perfect, as is the composition. Congratulations!
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Thank you, Linda! I was very fortunate to have this opportunity. I appreciate the critique as well. 🙂
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Beautiful! I’d not seen the yellow variety before. Fascinating curls to the greenery.
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Thanks, Todd. They are beauties and a favorite when spring arrives.
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Absolutely exquisite, Steve! The curling leaves are so graceful and make the shot. Great comp and post…really beautiful.
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Thanks, Jane. That is unique feature of theirs. SOme are more distinctive than others.
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Great Image Steve! Enjoyed seeing it!
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Thanks, Reed!
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