Sandra Bartocha & Claudia Müller - Italian Orchids 02

01.05.2008

We do like flowers … but we never came across so many orchid species before, as there are only a few species where we live. Thoughtfully we skim through our field guides, trying to address the plants by their correct name. Especially the Ophrys species are difficult to differentiate and leave us a little helpless at times. Bugs and bees fly from Ophrys tenthredinifera to Ophrys bertolonii to Ophrys garganica etc. etc. – the outcome are more than 50 different hybrids in the Gargano region alone.

For the start the exact identification doesn’t matter too much. They are in most cases quite beautiful and we dig deep into our camera bags to portray them appropriately. Tripods and raincoats are set up as sails to soften the harsh light and as fans of maximum apertures we are able to use shutter speeds from 1/250s upwards. In combination with 6 frames per second and orchids that are swinging happily in the wind (storm), the focus should be at the right spot – at least in some of the pictures. ;-)

Accompanied by the continuous sound of the Gargano cattle, we twine around stones, thistles and cowshit like fakirs – trying to picture the selected beauties in the best light possible. Bruised, scratched, sunburned and full of black and blue marks, we agree that the road to success is paved with thorns. :)

02.05.2008

We get the feeling that half of Europe is meeting here at Monte Sacro. It is a colorful blend of people … either just nature lover or real orchid freak. The freaks document all newly found species very accurately with ring flashes and are busy ticking them off in their notebooks. Unfortunately, some of them do not hesitate to place the object of desire into the best light by relocating the orchid from its original position into one with a better background. They do not understand why we carry tripods, they do not understand why we need shadow and even more so, they do not understand how we can spend 2 hours with one little orchid. After all we are just two young and inexperienced women who seem to be a little crazy.

Nevertheless, a very amiable Italian guy tried to give us a crash course into the manifold realm of Ophrys. With crimson head he swished up and down the hills – almost like a lightning-ball. “Cloooodia, Zaaaaandra, Com’on, Com’on” – “Neotineamakulatafirsttimebiscutellahybridcornutayouseehirmantiglossumtinikum”??? We regretted that we didn’t bring a dozen flags to mark the spots. Many thanks for the interesting lesson.