Tipularia discolor (Crane-fly orchid)

This morning, I made a trip into the upstate of South Carolina following Persimmon Ridge Road until I arrived at Eva Chandler Heritage Preserve. I knew it was the season for Crane-fly orchids, and I was not disappointed. However, I really struggled with the lighting on this hard-to-photograph orchid as I do every year.

The first problem, however, is to locate the flowers. There are no leaves on the plant this time of year, and the color blends in so well with the surrounding vegetation and shadows, that they are extremely hard to spot.

Once I found a suitable candidate, I used a piece of black cloth which I spread over my camera bag and placed behind the flowers. I used available light because I figured that even a minor amount of fill flash would burn out the highlights on these small flowers. I guess I'll have to get used to using a dark background for these, because that is something I seldom do...