More in situ photos (Paphiopedilum)

I really like this picture. The sunlight, the shadows on the limestone cliff, the dark leaves in the background, the clump of slipper orchid in the middle...


Only one on this prominent cliff face. Pretty high up, needed a telephoto macro for this shot.


There is hope, those seed pods look about ready to burst. If left undisturbed, perhaps a new generation will soon pop up.


Even if only one or two seedlings from the hundred thousands of seeds survive to blooming size it would ensure they don't go extinct completely in the wild. That is if the greedy humans don't get to them.

Orchid thieves ruin it for us all

There are many collectors who depend on sites like mine to find out where to go hunting for orchids. A lot of location information can be gleaned from certain photos if I am not too careful. This is why I can’t share scenery photos. One mistake and the plants would be gone tomorrow. Paranoid? No way. Not when it has happened before.

 

Peculiar mantid

Suffer the chill! I really hate feeling sick! Came down with a fever 2 days ago which started mild then became worse yesterday. Better now but the temperature in my room dropped down to 25C tonight and I woke up feeling all chilly, even with a thick comforter on. Yes, Kuching gets very chilly at night! This is why we never really need AC till the hot and dry months of July and August. Hope I recover fully before this weekend as we have another climbing trip coming up and I don’t want to miss it!

 

Now I can’t get back to sleep cause I just popped an acetaminophen tab and now I’m sweating it off.

 

Found this little critter on my Papilionanthe blooms a couple days ago. Peculiar looking praying mantis. Quite a little jumper, disappearing into the foliage easily and when I tried to photograph it again, it jumped to the ground, perfectly camouflaged against the soil. Before I could try different apertures to bring it into sharper focus, it was gone!

 

 

 

Click for larger sizes.

Shooting paphs in situ

Shot with wide angle lens, both photographer and clump of Paphiopedilum stonei can be seen in this photo.

Exploring a riverside habitat

Went exploring along a black water river in a remote area a few days ago with some friends. There are leeches here but none managed to get further than our shoes our socks.


Cleisostoma species.

Anyway, that many days of trekking and getting caught in the rain and chill has caused me to come down with a fever. Won't be doing the write-ups till I'm better so please visit my Flickr photoset for the rest of the photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarawaklens/sets/72157622779628651/