California Country Magazine asked me to photograph the orchids and the process of growing and shipping the orchids, at Rocket Farms in Salinas, California. I had never seen so many amazing flowers in one place. It was a fun adventure and now I am the proud owner of my very own orchid, although I am very nervous, because I am not so good at taking care of things that don’t remind me when they need water and food. But if Rocket Farms can take care of thousands and thousands of orchids then I should be able to keep one alive – we will see how long my little one will last.

And for those curious photography minds who are wondering how I photographed these flowers… I held each one up in the air with my left hand so they were completely backlit by the light coming through the greenhouse ceiling and with my right hand I focused and pushed the shutter. It was definitely a shaky operation so I was happy for auto-focus and high shutter speeds. This assignment just proves the lengths I will go to, to avoid using tripods and lights.