2016 PhotoChallenge Week 24: National, State, and Local Flowers

At the end of last year I discovered Photochallenge.org.  This is a small group of photographers who set forth a weekly challenge to other professional and amateur photographers.  What I was drawn to with this weekly assignment is that is pushes you to try new techniques and get out and take pictures on a weekly basis.  I'm taking part again this year and will also do a quick blog post about each of them.  The rules of the challenge do require that these are new pictures, not from your back catalog.  With my busy work schedule, I may not be able to get out each week and do this, so I will likely add a few of my older photos on the blog--taking the opportunity to look at the plethora of pictures I've taken and actually do some processing and weeding.

2016 PhotoChallenge Week 24: National, State, and Local Flowers

This past week's challenge was to take pictures of (ideally) your state's flower.  In 1902 Minnesota's State Flower was named the pink and white lady slipper (or showy lady slipper).  It is a rare orchid that only grows wild, and is protected in our state.  The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum has few on the grounds, and the week before this challenge one was illegally picked--making the newspapers locally.  We take our flowers seriously!  Unfortunately the flowering period for these is very short and I was unable to get out there in time for the post.

Wait!!!  Update Time!  I managed to get out to the Arboretum today and discovered a few remaining blooms of the the Showy Lady Slipper hiding their odd shaped faces in the shade by the edge of a swamp.  

This week I've also been continuing to go through my old photos and organizing them within Lightroom and just happened across a shot of a tiny wild orange orchid that I assume is some kind of Lady Slipper that I discovered at the Arboretum last spring/early summer.