 One of many Green Winged Otchids This year the conditions were mostly overcast although still very warm and just occasionally the sun would break through. I don’t know whether it was because it was overcast but somehow the colours of the orchids seemed far more vibrant on this occasion. I think the display was just about the same as it was last year but I do think the grass seems to be longer which didn’t always make taking pictures of the orchids very easy. I took a whole series of pictures which I was really pleased with, or so I thought, but on getting home and viewing them on the computer I could see that there must have been a blade of grass in the way that I didn’t notice and it just slightly obscures the shot. Thankfully I must have changed position on the tripod as I did finally get the picture I was after but it just proves I have to be more careful in looking at what’s in the picture when taking it.
 In bright sunlight harsh shadows appear on the flowers.  In overcast light details in the flowers can be seen much better. Because of the cloud cover I didn’t need to use my diffuser to shelter the flower spikes from the harsh sunshine which can so often cause harsh shadows on the pictures. I did, however, position a gold reflector so that it reflected up into the flowers, and it really does show off the details when you view the pictures in a way you just don’t notice at the time when you’re taking them. You often find also that the orchid has a spider’s web on it which you hardly ever notice at the time you saw it in the meadow. On the whole the conditions were favourable for me to take close up pictures of the orchids and I tried as best as I could to find pictures of as many different coloured ones too. I found a white one amongst the purple ones but that one was amongst some very tall grass and it certainly was a challenge to get a shot of it. White flowers often pose more of a problem as it’s all too easy to over expose for them and then you lose all the detail in the blooms. As it was quite breezy at times I thought it would be fun to have a go at trying to get some shots using a really slow shutter speed to blur the grass moving in the breeze. I’m not sure I got it quite right as perhaps the grass was too dense, but it was fun to have a go. Taking all of these photos always takes longer than I ever expect it to, and when I realised what the time was it was time to pack up and move on. I’d intended going to Sissinghurst Castle Gardens as I drive past the entrance on the route home and I didn’t want to miss out on my visit there too.  Amazing dark coloured Green winged Orchid Already it had been a really good day and it hadn’t finished yet as I made my planned visit to Sissinghurst too.
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