My orchid bloomed!

[FITBMX]

It bloomed the other day so I got some photos! Tell me if they are good or not!


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[terri36 7]

And what a beautiful orchid it is! The pictures could use some help, though. If you wanted to show off the entire pretty orchid, you should shut down your aperture a bit - that will get rid of some of the fuzziness on the front blossoms in a couple of those shots. Your f-stop appears so open that it is sensitive to the slightest change in plane. Also, I'd like to see these a bit brighter, too - the shots are overall kind of dark. I want that flower to pop! You posted these in the Macro section; for me, they are close-up shots since you filled your frame with the flower, but not really macro. A square crop might be fun - if you could manage it without cutting off the little bud on the right side of the frame.

Did you grow this outside, or take an indoor plant outside to shoot it? The last time I tried orchids, it bloomed beautifully for two years then just laid down and died on me. Never again!

 

[IzzieK]

What Terri said above ^^^^

Terri, I bought a $1 cattleya orchid from Lowes a year ago and it bloomed for me this year. I fertilize it with leftover coffee and grounds every two weeks. The secret is letting the roots and potting mix dry out for two weeks. I monitor my fertilization every two weeks by putting a reminder on my calendar...so far so good. In a decorator pot, a put scrunch up foil to raise the pot off the drained water.

 

[snerd]

Ooooo!!!! Ooooo!!!! Ala Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter hee hee!!!

Your profile says okay to edit, so here's what I did with the jpeg....................

 

[CAP]

Nice Phalaenopsis !!!

 

[terri36 7]

What Terri said above ^^^^

Terri, I bought a $1 cattleya orchid from Lowes a year ago and it bloomed for me this year. I fertilize it with leftover coffee and grounds every two weeks. The secret is letting the roots and potting mix dry out for two weeks. I monitor my fertilization every two weeks by putting a reminder on my calendar...so far so good. In a decorator pot, a put scrunch up foil to raise the pot off the drained water.

I've not heard of the coffee grounds thing (though it's good for compost, so why not?). You're very diligent with the calendar, too - great idea, really. I'm very casual with watering, which is a nice way of saying I water my plants when I remember to, or they look like they're drooping. That approach can work with most of them, but orchids require a bit of TLC - thanks for the tips!!

Snerd, that is a very nice edit. Wow! :thumbup: Huge difference.

 

[IzzieK]

Snerd...You are getting really good at your PP...do you ever sleep? That edit is awfully good! The flower really shine and pop!

 

[JoeW28]

Lovely Phalenopsis. I share the comments on the editing and DoF. Your white balance is also a bit off so the blossom has a white/green/black tint to them.

Here's a thought...think of putting either a white or black backdrop behind the orchid and shooting it.

As for care...use a urea-free fertilizer (urea will kill your phal). The single biggest mistake people make with phals is overwatering them.

 

[FITBMX]

I will take some more photos and repost!
Thanks for all the great help!

 

[FITBMX]

I went over it again. Is it better, or still to dark?

 

[FITBMX]

I was going to take a new photo with a better background but haven't had time.