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Native Orchids around Melbourne, Australia - Page 3

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Posted: Thu Oct 29th, 2020 18:07

21^st Post

Robert

Joined:	Sun Apr 1st, 2012
Location:	South Lakeland, UK
Posts:	4066
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jk wrote:
Robert, Give me a call.

PM sent :thumbs:

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Robert.

Posted: Thu Oct 29th, 2020 18:16

22^nd Post

Robert

Joined:	Sun Apr 1st, 2012
Location:	South Lakeland, UK
Posts:	4066
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Richard_M wrote:
Sounds like it will be a great resource when its published Robert.

Thanks Richard, looking forward to that

I have only been photographing native orchids for a few years. I spent many years photographing fungi, mostly in the same reserves as several orchids. It was one of my neighbour's who suggested I should check out a few of the orchids in one of our local reserves. I was in the reserve one afternoon wandering along one of the tracks when I met another photographer who showed me a patch of mosquito orchids. They are so small and with my ageing eyes, I could not see any detail in the flower at all. It was only when I was looking at the image on the computer, I could see it properly. One thing about native orchids there are species flowering all year round, whereas fungi is generally only for a few months each year. I still photograph fungi if I see some while on my travels, and still travel out the odd night for ghost fungi.

Richard, these are superb, so many tiny orchids, it's amazing and the variety, there seem so many.

I am very interested in stacking with flower and insect images, I am planning an improvised stackshot type mount but haven't time to describe it right now, need to get to bed, busy day tomorrow.

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Robert.

Posted: Thu Oct 29th, 2020 19:45

23^rd Post

Richard_M

Joined:	Tue Oct 13th, 2020
Location:	Australia
Posts:	76
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Thank you Robert

"Richard, these are superb, so many tiny orchids, it's amazing and the variety, there seem so many."

We reportedly have 410 native orchid species in Victoria.

I will get to Western Australia for some orchid overload. I do hope to see the Queen of Sheba, all 3 variants at some stage.

Here are a few links for the Queen of Sheba

http://orchidswa.com.au/thelymitra-sun-orchids/queen-of-sheba/

In case some of the links are geolocked I will put the text in a quote

https://www.smh.com.au/national/orchid-fever-as-10-year-quest-finally-unlocks-queen-of-sheba-s-secret-20200521-p54vb6.html

Orchid hunters are a real group of people, and Western Australia is one of the best places in the world to be one â€“ especially when one of the world's most rare and spectacular specimens is primed for a comeback.

The orchid family is the largest plant family in the world with 25,000 species, but the greatest diversity of species is in only a few spots globally, according to Kings Park orchid conservation scientist Belinda Davis.

Albany orchid enthusiast Keith Smith helped collect the seeds that have led to the Queen's comeback.

One of these is the biodiversity hotspot that is WA's South West. The state is home to almost 400 orchid species, nearly three-quarters of which are endemic, meaning they don't occur anywhere else. Of those, 77 are of conservation concern.

One of the rarest is the Queen of Sheba, the holy grail for orchid people â€“ colourful characters, according to Dr Davis.

https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/news/conserving-the-queen-of-sheba

Conserving The Queen of Sheba

Only growing in the south-west of Western Australia, the stunning Queen of Sheba orchid (Theylmitra variegata) boasts a single dark green, spiral-shaped leaf and up to five glossy, red, purple or violet flowers.

Historically, this beauty grew in the heart of Perth, but a loss of habitat through clearing eradicated many populations, and Theylmitra variegata It is now restricted to just a few small and isolated populations between Bunbury and Albany, which have suffered from trampling due to foot traffic and poaching in recent years.

Racing to save this vibrant species from extinction, orchid researchers at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (RBGV) and Kings Park and Botanic Garden (KPBG) in Perth have together made a major conservation breakthrough by successfully germinating and growing Theylmitra variegata.

The two lab groups, led by Dr Noushka Reiter (RBGV) and Dr Belinda Davis (KPBG) have been working together across the continent, with field assistance from Keith Smith, Dr Ryan Phillips at Latrobe University and volunteers. By joining forces, they have been able to optimise propagation techniques and establish permanent populations of the Queen of Sheba at both botanic gardens for the purpose of conservation.

Orchids rely on specific fungi to germinate their microscopic seed, making some species extremely difficult to grow in cultivation. However, the team was able to meticulously extract the symbiotic fungus Theylmitra variegata relies on from the roots of a wild plant, and grow the fungus in a petri dish in the lab before adding precious Theylmitra variegata seed.

â€œWe were thrilled to discover and replicate the optimum nutrition and conditions to grow this iconic and endangered orchid in the lab,â€ says Dr Noushka Reiter, leader of the orchid conservation team at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. â€œAs a result, we now have insurance populations at both botanic gardens and will be in a position to introduce the Queen of Sheba back into the wild in the coming years.â€

The beautiful plants the teams have grown will be used for seed orcharding, and eventual introduction back into the wild.

You can donate to the Orchid Conservation Program here, to ensure the team can continue their vital work saving our rarest and most threatened native orchids from extinction.

Published on 1st April 2020

Posted: Thu Oct 29th, 2020 20:30

24^th Post

Richard_M

Joined:	Tue Oct 13th, 2020
Location:	Australia
Posts:	76
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I am very interested in stacking with flower and insect images, I am planning an improvised stackshot type mount but haven't time to describe it right now, need to get to bed, busy day tomorrow.
Robert, I do a lot of focus stacking.

I started off using a CamRanger in conjunction with Nikon bodies. I photographed most of my fungi using this method. It served me well for many years (I still use it occasionally). Once I started photographing native orchids I found it was too slow and cumbersome for the task. As I was also a Fuji user I started using one of the bodies with focus bracketing built in, which made life much simpler. However, I still wasn't 100% happy as a user and after a while I tried out an Olympus body. I use the Olympus almost exclusively for native orchid photography.

Nikon have since introduced focus (shifting) bracketing into several of their bodies. Fuji have had it for sometime, and now they have released the X-T4 with fully articulating screen which does help for subjects in awkward locations.

Olympus does both focus bracketing, and focus stacking. What I like about the Olympus implementation for focus stacking is it brings the focus point closer to the camera after taking the initial image. I use the max 15 image focus stack. It take the first image at the focus point, moves focus closer to the camera, take 3 images as it moves focus towards the initial focus point, then another 11 images past the focus point. This covers the majority of my orchid requirements. The reason I find the Olympus method better is with small subjects, poor eyesight, and most of the time photographing subjects on an angle, I'm not always sure which part of the subject is closest to the lens.

Both Fuji and Olympus allow for a programmed button to activate the focus bracketing, Nikon you need to use the menu system. Both Fuji and Olympus allow you to watch the focus shift as it progresses on the LCD screen, much easier to watch for subject movement IMO. Nikon blanks the screen and you need to keep an eye on the subject for movement, which is not so easy when the subject is tiny. Both Fuji and Olympus set focus back to the initial focus point when the sequence is completed. Nikon (and CamRanger) leave the focus where the sequence has finished, which is handy if you need to take a few more images to get all of the subject in focus.

I'm not sure what other camera manufacturers offer regarding built-in focus bracketing.

I also have a StackShot rail, which I use at home, not in the field. The CamRanger also works with the StackShot I have, so it means I can control the whole operation remotely via a tablet or computer using WiFi.

Good luck with your project, I look forward to seeing some of your results when you get it operational.

Posted: Fri Oct 30th, 2020 09:30

25^th Post

Joined:	Sun Apr 1st, 2012
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Wow, I really like those Ghost fungi.
I wish I could come and see those.

Need a trip to Melbourne.
:thumbs:

but not at this time.

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