Another shot of my favorite wildflower - the Indian Pipe. This time a winter image (to go with the summer one in the Flora category). It was taken in 2012 and is a favorite because the snow cover is minimal so you can see the whole plant. When Indian Pipe flowers first emerge they are bent in the shape of their namesake, but after pollination they stretch out straight. Since they have no need for leaves, they are all stem and flower and eventually seedpod. The little ragged bits on the stems are actually bracts, a modified leaf, but so far I don’t know why they have them.
Specific Feedback Requested
No specific feedback needed, but chime in with whatever thoughts come to mind.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
I seem to recall handholding this, but I may have used a tripod
Lightroom for RAW processing including white balance, curves adjustment, texture, clarity & sharpening. Photoshop to remove some distractions that I couldn’t get rid of previously.
Amazing – they look like poppy seedpods! Thanks for the information on them – I wasn’t familiar with them. I’m a little conflicted by the dark area in the UL, but maybe a different angle wasn’t possible.
Kris, I love the mix of leaves and needles below the stalks as well. I’d agree with Diane about the conflicting large TLC. I’d have been tempted to fill this in with cloned snow!
Thanks @Diane_Miller, @raven & @Mike_Friel - the dark bit is a tree and so far as I remember, there wasn’t much choice. The background was simplest at this angle. It isn’t cropped so I don’t know how successful snow cloning would be since there isn’t much source material. I’m always on the look out for these guys though, in all seasons so maybe someday I can get a similar composition.
