Yes, I have photographed orchids before in the past. There have been some accidental encounters. And of course I have had my moments of joy during photo trips after finding some of them during a more ‘planned’ search. But somehow this year these enchanting flowers really touched me deeply for the first time. Can’t explain why. I just felt the urge to make something more of it, while I didn’t really knew what that meant. So I guess I am exploring and I like it! These four pictures are only the beginning and I am really curious what will come next…

Sometimes you just have a little bit of luck. This was the case in the picture below. While making my composition I noticed something black crawling through my main subject, the Man orchid. I thought about changing my focus to another orchid but I didn’t. Then the black beetle showed itself in his way up to the top of the orchid. At that moment it was a matter of fast thinking and handling. I know sometimes an insect crawls to the top of the flower to use it as a take-off into the big big world. While secretly hoping this would happen just now my heart was beating some extra times… Still I had to concentrate while changing my focus to the insect which was constantly moving. Most of the times I use manual focusing, and certainly now this was the right choice. Nevertheless it is so difficult to keep the insect sharp while it is going everywhere. Before I knew it he was on top of the orchid and within seconds it had flown away. Just as I wanted but of course it all happened too fast. I was convinced none of my pictures would be sharp. Certainly not the one where the beetle spread its wings before take-off. Can you image my happiness when I discovered this one?

Although lately I have a slight preference for placing my subject in its environment by taking a little distance and thereby making it a little bit smaller in the entire picture, these orchids invited me to come close. And they are surely worth it. Of course some orchids are famous because of their recognizable human or animal figures, but to see this yourself is  a whole new discovery.

The man orchid is very inconspicuous when walking through the fields. Surely for someone as me who is still relatively inexperienced in the search for orchids. Even when this species was finally noticed by me it didn’t thrill me immediately. This changed while I looked through my viewfinder. Again there was this enchantment when I discovered a human figure in this orchid.

Finally I want to show you a close-up of the Lesser butterfly-orchid. This one I have already seen and photographed in the past. Now it invited me to come close again. While keeping the flower in the shadow the background is lit by the warm sunlight. The white flower turns into a soft blue shade because it’s in the shadow while the background is turning into a warm yellow tone because it’s in the sun. I like playing with these shade versus sunlight situations.

I did not realize that the Common Toad could cause me so much fun. It was only when I was more or less forced photographing them, by lack of the presence of the Moor Frog which was my initial photographic goal, that I discovered their beauty.

Normally I am not so fond of photographing in the middle of the day, with the sun shining bright and giving me no opportunities to get my subject in the shadow. Still, when you’re out there, you’ve got to do something. So I took a chance and crawled on the shore with my viewfinder and telelens, attempting to shoot this Common Toad with the sun behind me. This way there were no disturbing shades on the little amphibian. And then I am always looking for something to fill the foreground. Some reed came in handy!

The Common Toads were not only busy in the water for breeding purposes. Some of them had the job done already and were getting out of the water, to continue their lifes on land again. Ideal situations to take completely other pictures.

And then finally there was this one Toad which posed for me in my favorite evening light. In contrast to earlier that day when his fellow Common Toads were a little bit shy, he just sat there and let me come close. What a joy!

In some ways it has been a weird winter for me. Meaning I have been very busy with my photography, but not as you might expect outside in the fields, but mainly indoors behind the pc and attending photo festivals. That’s the other side of the job I guess… How to get your pictures out there. For example I have been working like crazy to get finally this new website online.  Then  ofcourse there was my very first exposition in the Katholische Akademie in Cloppenburg, a magical moment if I may say so. And finally there was my first big national performance during the Macro PiXperience in Amsterdam.

And then… suddenly springtime was there. But more important: Finally I had my head clear to focus on its inviting macro subjects. So… off I went back into the fields again. And there I found myself on an early morning during sunrise between the Haircap moss… Now surely you would think I would be happy as a child and over the moon laying there in the middle of one of my favorite macro subjects. But.. unfortunately this was not the case, at least not in the very first few hours. The thing was, it was cold, so very cold. The only thing I really was thinking about was my very warm bed which now seemed so far away. But… persistence wins, at least in this case. After a while the increasingly warmth of the sun had a positive influence on my body, mind, and therefore also on my pictures. Finally… my macro lens was my friend again and it felt like coming home after a long time of absence.