“Orchidaceae”

When Frazier King isn’t raising orchids, he’s photographing them. Silky, sensual and delicate, the flowers in his photographs seem to be caught in mid-flight, suspended in air. King claims he had less than total control over the images in his new exhibit “Orchidaceae,” a series in black and white. “They more or less chose me,” he confesses. “I raise them and have them around the house, but they seem to take on their own light and characteristics. The actual final look of the image is always a surprise because there’s a certain randomness in the solarization. It sort of creates an environment by giving them atmosphere and depth.” (Solarization, by the way, is a technique used to process photo negatives — Man Ray used the same method.)

So is King done with photographing orchids? “There are 30,000 varieties of orchids, so I have some more shots left to take,” he laughs.

King will lead a demonstration of the solarization process at 1 p.m. on Saturday, but you can catch the “Orchidaceae” exhibit during regular viewing hours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Through June 21. The Museum of Printing History, 1324 West Clay Street. For information, call 713-522-4652 or visit www.printingmusuem.org.
Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Starts: April 17. Continues through June 21, 2008