 The Orchid. Few flowers evoke such a sense of awe and mystery as do the orchids. One often thinks of exotic flowers from far-away lands, shrouded in swirling mists and emitting intoxicating perfumes to attract the unwary pollinator and perhaps the unwary human. While this description may suffice for a small percentage of orchids, the family is vast, comprising some twenty-five thousand species from all parts of the world. Orchids may be as near as as your own backyard or street corner, and as far away as the remotest mountain peaks of Peru. This author became interested in orchids not through the "front door" of seeing a pretty flower and becoming enamored by its beauty. Instead, this route to orchid obsession followed a much different path. Many years ago, I stumbled across an article in National Geographic about orchids. While it certainly showed some of the most attractive and colorful hybrids of the day, it gave equal time to intriguing mechanisms many orchid species use to attract their pollinators in their native habitats. Tales of orchids with 10 inch long nectaries to entice moths with 10 inch long tongues, flowers that resemble the females of mediterranean bees so closely that frustrated male bees will attempt in vain to mate with the flowers, buckets of sticky goo that entrap insects and offer only one way out (by the flower's pollen) and a host of other engineering marvels made of floral tissue had me hooked. I set out to learn more about these marvelous plants and to discover native species growing in the wildlands of northern Florida.  Along this journey, I have had the privilege of seeing and growing some of the most astounding flowers...it's as if the Creator devoted extra volumes of thought into this one family of plants...the array of shapes, sizes, and colors is truly vast. Were one to devote an entire lifetime to studying orchids, one would only scratch the barest surface of the knowledge of these plants. I have also taken up the hobby of photographing flowers of mine in my studio that come into bloom, hoping to share the joy that I have felt in observing their beauty and their genius.  Having gained a reputation as a reasonably capable orchid photographer, I now offer many of these photographs for purchase as limited edition art photographic prints. These photos are also available as stock photography in digital form suitable for publication as well. This gallery is divided up into two sections. The first is comprised of those photos available for purchase as high resolution prints (and for viewing in low-resolution form on-line). The second is comprised of photos placed here simply for the joy of sharing the beauty (and the intrigue) of the orchid. All images are copyrighted to the author and require prior permission for use of any commercial nature. The images and information contained in these orchid galleries may be reproduced for educational purposes, provided the following information is included with them: "Copyright © 2001-2004 Prem Subrahmanyam, All Rights Reserved. Used with permission". Subsections of this gallery |
All Photos Copyright © 2001-2004 Prem Subrahmanyam, All Rights Reserved.
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