Jim's Photo Page - A Pink Ladyslipper Orchid and Some Thoughts On Macro Lenses

This is a larger file than most of the ones I put on this web site, so it will take a little longer to load.

The orchid pictured here was just one of 224 blooms I counted along a one mile stretch of trail at Bishop's Bog in Portage, Michigan. The time of the peak bloom varies each year with the weather but usually occurs in mid to late May.

The photo was taken with a Canon EF 100mm macro lens and camera body mounted on a tripod. The film is the amazingly sharp and colorful Fuji Velvia, rated at an exposure index of 40.

Pink Ladyslipper Orchid

There is nothing quite like a macro lens for doing closeup photography. Most true single focal length macro lenses come in one of three general sizes ranges: 50-60 mm, 90-105 mm, and 180-200 mm.

The Pink Ladyslipper Orchid above was shot with a 100 mm macro lens. Macros in the 90-105 mm focal length range give the same or more magnification as the shorter macros with about twice the working distance between the front of the lens and the subject. Macros in the 180-200 mm range give even more working distance but are frightfully expensive. Working distance doesn't matter much with coins and flowers but it matters a lot with skittish subjects like insects. You can barely see the edge of an insect hiding in the crevice at the bottom of the flower.

Many nature photographers find the 90, 100, and 105 mm macros to be a good compromise between working distance and cost. Many of these macro lenses are very sharp. Even with this reduced size file, you can see the hairs around the orchid.

Orchid Section

To give you a little of an idea of what a macro lens is capable of, the photo above is a 2 mm by 2mm segment of the original slide of the above orchid, taken from the upper shoulder of the foot of the blossom. You can clearly see the hairs on the edge of the flower.

For the absolute best quality in closeup photography, macro lenses are the way to go.

You can find ratings on the sharpness of 25 macro lenses at the link below.

DIRECTIONS to the orchid section of Bishops' Bog.

From Westnedge and Center Road, go one mile south on Westnedge to South Westnedge Park (just across the street from West Lake Nature Preserve). Turn west at the brown WLNP/BISHOP'S BOG sign. There is a parking lot just west of the ball diamonds. Across the road south from the parking lot is a sign for BISHOP'S BOG with a map on the back. Take the asphalt trail west and south to the green, plastic deck trail. There is a turn out every 200 feet and a bench every 1000 feet. The vast majority of the orchids are between the second and third benches (a mere half mile from the parking lot). Sign post #9 is by the second bench. From this point south, watch for the orchids. The farther south you get, the more orchids you will see.

The best chance to catch them in bloom is mid to late May.

Go to Macro Lens Ratings | Site Directory | Home Page

Added January 26, 2000