Cattaeya Orchid

The Cattleya orchid is category which includes 113 different species of orchids which originate from Costa Rica and South America. The category is named after Sir William Cattley. This specific one in our image is a c.bicolor variety. The colors are yellow and pink-red.



Orchids give off a sweet smelling aroma which is pretty unmistakable compared to other flowers. This specific image was shot at the Huntington Museum of art greenhouse in Huntington, West Virginia. They have an extensive collection of orchids along with many other tropical plants and flowers. The greenhouse is free to enter and a must see for those interested in photographing orchids.



As for the shoot itself a tripod is a must. This greenhouse as well as others has an active ventilation system and an air exchange system that runs most of the time. I suggest setting up for the image while the fan is in operation and wait to take the image until it has stopped blowing, this will give you the most precise and accurate image. Generally if you take it when the fan is on the image, even at high ISO and shutter speed the air flow will cause some blur and distortion.

The next thing I would suggest is using a short lens. While telephoto lenses are great they are generally slower than fixed focal length lenses and generally do not create the DoF that most photographers desire in an isolating shot.


With that said this specific image was shot with a 50mm lens iso 100 and f/16 and shutter speed 1/6 sec.

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