Chris Cope is an amateur photographer who lives in Bendigo, Victoria. He became a serious amateur with the purchase of a Canon 300D DSLR camera with standard Canon 18-55mm kit lens in 2007. This camera has recently grown to become a Canon 40D with Tamron 17-50mm, Canon 70-200mm L series and Canon 60mm macro lenses.

Chris is keen on low light High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography using RAW images. This style of photography involves the use of a tripod to take three different exposures of a scene. The exposures are then enfused using Bracketeer. The enfused image is imported into Aperture and the sharpness, color, saturation and levels adjusted to match the scene as viewed by the photographer's eye.

Chris looks for unusual light or color in an image. Such conditions are often transitory and many visits to a scene can be required to encounter the right conditions. Perseverance and patience can be tested and are often well practised.

Orchid photography without using a flash has great appeal and many challenges. Finding orchids requires walking in the bush hoping to catch a glimpse of a tiny plant which seems bent on invisibility. A flash of color or an unusual shape against the surrounding vegetation can often give the game away. Once found, capturing an image of an orchid requires calm conditions, even light and a place to lie prone without crushing other plants.

A stunning image makes all the expense, time and perseverance a trifling. I hope you enjoy the results.