Early Cookie

Dendrobium bigibbum - or the Cooktown orchid. This a Queensland native and the floral emblem for our state. It's only January so this is flowering a bit early, usually they flower in later summer to autumn.
And I was a bit disappointed with the paler colour this year.
It's hot and humid with showery weather, no cool-off at night at all. It's better to be at work really..well no, not quite!

Vasco Five Friendships

Vasco Five Friendships is one I bought from brighton Nursery.
A Vasco is an intergeneric orchid. Vascostylis = Ascocentrum x Rhynchostylis x Vanda.
This is the pink one, there is a light blue version too. I must buy that one!
It's a small flower - the photo is about life size. Very hard to get a good photo - that white again! But I took note of your tip, Scooter - I opened up the aperture here and the background has blurred well. Thanks!
The macro lens is the new Canon one, a 60mm f 2.8.
I hope I'm getting better at photography!

Aerides Punchinello

A mainly white orchid with purple highlights, this is an Aerides from Asia and, as such, the flowers hang down in a foxtail like fashion. Aerides are also called the Cat's tail orchid.
It's obvious why it's called Punchinello - the hook looks like the old puppet's large, hooked nose. Punchinello was an 18th century Italian marionette puppet who was always falling over. The English called him Punch and started the travelling Punch and Judy shows.
There were four sprays or racemes on this plant this year. I noticed some of the flowers yellowed and fell off before they opened, maybe it was the heat.
The frangrance of this orchid is subtle and spicy, similar to
Aerides houlletiana.

Brassavola Nodosa

Why are white orchids the most difficult to photograph...this is about the 15th attempt and not much good! But it is a small orchid so that's my excuse.
It's from Mexico and is sometimes called lady of the night and is slightly fragrant at night!

Cattleya Minerva

Cattleya Minerva - a classic purple Cat, given to me by Merle, my elderley friend from Pine Rivers Orchid Society. She gave me quite a few orchid cuttings and nearly all have grown well. I went to her house to help her repot her collections one very hot summer a few years ago. A few weeks later all her orchids had gone - her son in law had claimed the lot as she was deemed too old to look after them. I would have kept helping her too.

This macro lens takes a nice flower photo - just that little bit crisper. No need for editing!

It's hot as hell - but my repotting continues. This morning I did about 15, yesterday the same, my face as red as a brick and a wet towell on my neck. If a cockroach runs out of an orchid while I'm tearing it up, my dog Rusty catches him. Great fun for all really.