Into the Orchid House In Search of Beauty

About this book

High on the hills of the Atherton Tablelands in far north Queensland stands a glasshouse built by orchid expert Bruce Gray. Whether from the cloud forests of South America, the Himalayan Mountains of India, the mangroves of the Philippines, the rocky outcrops of Madagascar or the dense rainforests of New Guinea, tropical species thrive here.

Award-winning photographers Stanley and Kaisa Breeden capture the plants in rich, detailed images. Specialising in macro photography using natural light, the Breedens produce masterful floral portraits, exquisite in detail and colour. Step into the orchid house to discover this extraordinary and diverse world.

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Biography

Stanley Breeden began photography as a teenager in the late 1950s. He has published books on Australian and Indian wildlife and has contributed to most major English-language nature magazines. Stan has been the recipient of two Emmy Awards for his work as a documentary maker with National Geographic.

Kaisa Breeden is a third-generation artist who is captivated by the mastery of digital photography and fine art printing. Since convincing her husband Stan to go digital, the pair have specialised in macro nature photography using natural light.

Bruce Gray has grown tropical orchids for about 50 years and today his complex of greenhouses harbour more than 1,100 different species. To get to know the orchids in their natural habitat, Bruce has travelled widely in the world’s tropics. He has described more than 20 new species and discovered many others. He worked as a botanist and botanical collector for the Forest Research Institute of the CSIRO for 30 years and still collects for botanical institutions in his spare time. His orchids have won many major awards including the Australian Orchid Council’s Species Orchid of the Year, in 2002 and 2010.