GHOST ORCHID TWIN 2 © 2007

Fakahatchee Strand, FL

The Ghost Orchid is a very rare native orchid of Florida. It has many unique features, but one of the features I find most fascinating is that it doesn’t have any leaves. If the plant isn’t in bloom, you’d have no idea there was an orchid on the tree. At night the orchid emits a beautiful gentle scent. It is pollinated by the giant sphinx moth. The moth has a 6″ proboscis that enables it to reach into the long spur of the orchid flower. The orchid is on the state list of endangered species. Ghost Orchid Twin 2 was taken with a Deardorff 5×7 camera on T-Max 100 film. This photograph is hand-printed in Clyde’s darkroom on fiber-based paper, selenium toned, then mounted and matted to current archival standards. The photograph is a limited edition and signed by Clyde. Camera settings  f/45 | 72mm Schneider XL lens | 20 seconds. Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click here.