http://maxfulcher.com/ Max's Orchid House Articles http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1596 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1596 When woman owns a closet full of high heels and stilettos it's a safe bet man is in there watching her walk the walk. Me? All the above, but even happier when lost in a cupboard full of fruit. Tropical fruit. It takes me back to childhood. Fashionable footwear and luscious fruits were an important part of pre-school education. The family owned a shoe factory a jot away from Steve the fruiter who operated a fruit-and-veg at Stones... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=11201 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=11201 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=9020 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=9020 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=8055 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=8055 Barney Greer, a highly respected Stanhopea man successfully turned his hands to growing just about any orchid species you care to mention. Barney's wife, Vera focussed from a slightly more centred perspective. Flowers in the home. Everything in its place. Well cared for family. The Greers regularly squired me to orchid auctions by way of introduction to the fancy - a nod from Barney when he thought I should bid while Vera, true Capricorn,... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=7833 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=7833 Now here’s an orchid that could make a maiden blush! The zany subtropical Stanhopea dangles great clusters of blossom from its nether regions, down below the pseudo bulbs and large leafy foliage. What first seems like a goofy quirk of nature turns out to be one of the magnificent miracles of the plant world. Overwhelming, viewed from beneath. It must be marvellous to happen upon these dizzying apparitions in the jungles of... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5898 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5898 While wishing you Season's Greetings I would also advise the following dates Tai Chi classes Cooroy (Apex Park) : begin Monday Feb 2, 8 am Tai Chi classes Noosa (beside Yacht Club) : begin Thursday Feb 5, 7 am Tai Chi classes Pomona (Stan Topper Park) : begin Friday Feb 6, 8 am     http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5550 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5550 Being Australian I tuned to the sounds of nature at an early age. The whistling of the wind, bird song, crashing waves, and even the sound of my own breathing caused exhilaration. These days I enjoy playing the didgeridoo whilst ‘toning’ the crystal bowl. Like practicing Tai Chi, the playing of the bowl leaves me energised yet calm. On a recent summer evening I headed over to Main Beach Noosa to harmonise crystal bowl... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5154 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5154 The illustration at left is just a small 'thankU' gesture made to Ian Cameron for guiding me through the first faltering steps of Tai Chi. It is a joy to work with Ian, and I encourage you to read some excerpts from his work below. He has much to say on the subject of Holistic Living and, by example, a lot to... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5148 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=5148 Holistic medicine addresses mind and body, diet and exercise, lifestyle and relationships, achievements and problems. Nothing can be viewed in isolation. The Five Elements (Wu Xing) of earth, metal, water, wood and fire, in association with Yin and Yang, play an important role in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). These five elements also relate to five seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter and a transitional stage at the end of each... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=4814 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=4814  True Tai Chi spirit won the day when students and instructors gathered together at this year's WTBA (World Tai Chi Boxing Association) Australasian Tai Chi gathering. Camp 08 (08/08/08) opened on the same auspicious date as the Beijing Olympics and was held just outside Byron Bay in the spacious Belongil camp grounds and the beautiful Byron temple. We came from across Australia and beyond to share learning and advance knowledge. A... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=4393 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=4393 Beneficial effects on heart and lung Qi (chi) in particular. Can release stored emotions while generating positive feelings of stability. Yin Yang walking utilises Yin [contraction] and Yang [expansion] to stimulate and balance Qi (chi) flow within the body. Inhalation on expansion, exhalation on contraction. Breathe naturally, mind remains centred, focussed fully on the exercise. [1] Begin practise with a preparation stance. Place... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=4233 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=4233 Tai Chi is fundamentally 'soft' exercise. Its movements are relaxed and flow from one to the other without interruption. The breathing patterns must be natural, slow, and deep. Inhaling and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g limbs, exhaling (contracting) limbs between moves. The aim is to alternatively exercise muscular fibres. Contraction. Relaxation Contraction. Relaxation. Wide circular movements to begin will increase body strength and the flow of... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=4089 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=4089 Warming up, loosening, limbering and stretching the body are vital and integral parts of Tai Chi practice. In translation Sung [shoong] can mean ‘to relax, to lose, to give up, or to yield’. In Tai Chi meditative practice, relaxation means to give yourself up completely, both mentally and physically. It means to yield. Yield totally to the entire universe, yield to the infinite. We should therefore move through each... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3907 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3907 A long history of movement and exercise systems is associated with Taoism where the basic goal is to balance and harmonize the two poles of the yin and the yang, thus creating awareness and contributing to the climate from which Tai Chi has emerged. Interestingly enough this tension between opposites is reflected in the human brain which is divided into right and left hemispheres that mirror that same dual structure, a state called brain... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3772 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3772 Tai Chi is a gradual process - not a race against time. It addresses pain and reduces the sense of panic evolving from stressful situations. It is a wonderful form of meditation in motion where stillness of mind is blended with movement of body.We can use individual Tai Chi postures as a breathing stance for the healing of certain organs but, as applies to developing most skills, it is important to first learn correct posture as each step... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3624 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3624 Just as, the word Lan generally describes a flower In China, it can also be used to identify a specific species orchid. Things can become confused. Similarly, the CHI in CHINA is pronounced with an 'eye' sound whereas CHI in Tai Chi (the fitness and healing art form) is pronounced 'chee'. The notion of Chi is extremely important in Chinese medicine and well-being is closely monitored in the Yin Yang cycle of Chi flow, because Chi and movement... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3527 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3527     Following the orchid pathway around Asia and the Pacific is most rewarding. In this clip you'll see shots of the boathouse in the royal Shugakuin Garden in Kyoto and a deserted coconut house on a plantation in east coast Malaysia near the Thai border. Travel shots from my PHOTOFILE intermingle with orchid photographs taken here, there, and everywhere. Many feature from my orchid garden in Queensland,... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3448 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3448 When La Niña paid east coast Australia a visit last month. the Queensland waterfront was awash, and dams in the mid west, not filled in17 years, began tumbling over. Whole towns were evacuated as the sunburnt county transformed into verdant greens – especially around Noosa and the hinterland.Now grass remains knee high, and mowers are most overdue in the various parks where we practice Tai Chi, although that does not... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3392 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3392 It's early January and the impressive Woodford Folk Festival folds away for yet another season. Massive! That initial awe-inspiring impact of arriving on site. Droves of people housed in a man-made environment of shops, pavilions, tents – sharing an eclectic mix of music, forums, theatre, circus, street performance, and film. Children had their own theatre within the structure of the main event which could hold up to 130.000 people... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3213 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3213 Tai Chi is a way of bringing yourself into the present moment, It generates feelings of wholeness and connectedness – the opposite of separateness. Once heavily guarded inside traditional Chinese families it is now easily accessed globally. The Woodford Folk Festival, an event of international standing, is held over six days and six nights in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. It presents more than 2000 performers and 400 events in... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3194 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3194 Hoyas love to be ignored. Left to their own devices the gorgeous (and often perfumed) little climbers have quietly edged their way into the gardens of India, South East Asia, Australia, the Pacific, and like climates around the globe. Right about now in December, Hoyas are flowering here in Queensland, a Christmas bonus. They will continue to pop buds right along to May/June when the winter months slow things down until the cycle begins again... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3054 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3054 Lordy lordy, how the world is making a bee line to the Land Down Under. Seems the climate is just right for expats to return home, and overseas guests to decide this is where they want to be on a more permanent basis. There's honey in the hive.And right in the forefront of the action is the beautiful Sunshine Coast. Home to Noosa, Maroochydore, anywhere along the coast is overflowing with residences that bring one, two, three, five-and-up... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3049 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3049 Want to hear about everything MaX has to say? He's sold millions and millions of dollars worth of merchandise through advertising and promotion, and made a lot of people rich, but that's not the point. MaX is part of the good life. Having set a lot of young folk on the road to success MaX jumped ship to follow his own creative pathways. Artist. Writer. Author. Photographer. His art and photo files have been the source of decades of... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3047 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3047 Driving down the Noosa/Eumundi highway last week I stopped by the Japanese garden full of black pots and stone carvings from Indonesia. A walled garden. And outside in the parking lot beside piles of bark and mulch and river rock stood a fascinating tree close to the garden wall. A proliferation of great green fruit balls dangled from the tree. What on earth? "What are they?" to the guy unpacking a pair of Chinese Fo... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3046 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=3046 The Aussie dollar swims around mid ninety and half the nation is off like a shot to see the world at pre-Keating prices. Mass migration. I wonder what such buoyancy does to the tourist presence in, say, Central Sydney. Not a lot showed on the radar during my October jaunt. Fewer Americans. More Chinese. Europeans? Didn't come across that many. Well, a few at the Oyster Bar on the Opera House walkway – chasing crepes, not... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2980 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2980 The gorgeous Indian dendrobiums are in full flower Down Under. Marvellous pinks, and yellows, and golds, they hang like magic lanterns with scores of blossoms on each inflorescence and anything up to 50 clusters on an established plant. Show time.The perfume in the orchid house becomes almost overwhelming. What with the early hoyas intermingled into the scene and a small orchard of orange, pink grapefruit, and pomelo flowering along side,... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2930 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2930 There is no photograph of that foggy dawn In Beijing when, as mist lifted, I found myself in a vast arena of people, silently swaying, forming one enormous flow of humanity. Each centred on self, but united into a massive swirling ocean of accord. My first encounter with Tai Chi in China, and on a scale so overwhelming I failed to lift the camera - decision being to let the experience burn into memory for all time. It would be more than two... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2927 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2927 Shooting for the sun - flying to the moonChinese folklore tells us that ten suns once circled Earth - consecutively - one a day for ten days. Disaster struck when all ten suns rose one a.m., scorching Earth. Early signs of global warming. The emperor called his archer to down nine of the suns to save mankind. The archer's reward was the elixir of life. "Make no haste to swallow this pill. First prepare with prayer and fasting for a... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2905 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2905 Back in the halcyon days of advertising, Alan Yates wrote under several aliases. Carter Brown, his most famous detective series flowed across continents - thrillers - full of intrigue, action, and wise-guy dialogue. Mercifully, there was less political correctness in the 50s and 60s. Hard cold fact served on a politically correct platter makes a very indifferent dish indeed.Writers need inspiration, a word, a phrase - a notion even - to... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2903 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2903 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2902 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2902 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2900 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2900 Private and personal use of  Max's GRAPHICS is free BUT ...   You may try to download some of MaX's Orchid House GRAPHICS (photographs and illustrations) for personal use and school projects, and that's OK. You will find them slightly fuzzy and low resolution. That's to protect my original work. Copyright  exists.Please remember to link back to my site or credit maxfulcher.com if you use visuals or... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2899 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2899 Half the art world is up to armpits in oils and easels while the other half is virtually drawing freehand on desktop computers. Intriguing. Max Fulcher manages to straddle both generations by bringing his numerous watercolour and pen-and-wash techniques over to the electronic media..Two decades ago computers were mainly seen as storage systems for inner sanctums, CIA files and such. Maybe the occasional scanned knockoff of some famous... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2898 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2898 Quotes from cover story in Noosa Country Style magazine (Spring/Summer 07/08) ' ... a remarkable rural setting in close proximity to thriving Cooroy township, the 6.23 acreage (2.52 ha) currently operates as creative centre for Vanity House Publishing. 'Sydney architect designed, the principal working residence replicates a fashionable warehouse atmosphere, perfect for promotional events, entertaining, small seminars et cetera... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2671 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2671 Cute and curious he'd hop in to watch me work the computer at all hours of the night. Big ears, small face, he would next hip-hop into the newly painted kitchen area, pristine white and sanitised to within an inch of its life by my sibling sister. Unfortunately the hapless little marsupial left a trail of mouse droppings (blink and you would miss them) in his favourite cupboards and though I chose to ignore the matter - 'the best-laid schemes... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2444 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2444 Click here to purchase from USA stockist - Atlas Books at BookMasters Inc.or buy at a special promotional price from amazon.comclick for more photos and extracts from the book or here to reach MaX http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2264 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2264 These four high quality prints included in MaX's Big Brown Bag. Click in http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2261 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2261 Printed one-off on excellent 160gsm Neusiedler bright white stock that enhances the true colour of the original. Cream and silver Flannel Flowers and velvety pink Hoya combine with highly scented King Orchids to contrast the flashy reds of the Queensland Firewheel blossom. Australia, you are many things. We adore your contrasts and colours. This is the poster most requested to send to overseas friends. Truly Australian. An open invitation to... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2254 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2254 See it and you will become it - visualisethen decide to act on it http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2237 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2237 bulk buy 42 units  AUS$100 postage free in Australia in mint condition. Prints previously sold singly between $10 and $20 depending on size. These are A3. Chance for regional orchid society to make big profit margins at next Orchid Show. The public adore orchid portraits and the Cattleya has worldwide appeal. Arrangements can also be made to use this illustration as your personal or club symbol. For further information... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2228 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2228 "Art isn't easy," vocalises  Barbra Streisand as she describes creative process in her stunning interpretation of Stephen Sondheim's Putting it Together. Don't we know it. Writer, dancer, photographer, artist, musician, sculptor - every last one of us who strives to express inner feelings.Dilemma, doubt - delirium even - strike regardless. They wave over even the most accomplished. Here's a book that helps all and sundry. It came... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2217 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2217      A3 size, 420 x 297mm (16.5 x 11.7 inches) Priced at AUS$75, the idea of a big brown carry bag may hark back to Bloomingdales and the 80s, but Max Fulcher's new orchid folios look forward to decades to come. The surprise being MaX took his watercolour and pen-and-wash techniques and brilliantly translated them into the living media of today – desktop. He draws freehand on the... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2210 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2210 Striptease, a magnificent obsession.> > > Max Fulcher's latest book, like it's author, is almost impossible to categorise. Using only a mouse and computer illustrator programmes he has created works freehand that are a modern take on traditional botanical art. "It's not just a textbook for orchid fanciers. It's a book for anyone that loves the romance of flowers," says the author.  The colour and form of the... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2209 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2209 A book about orchids? Yes indeed. And about photography, and the people and countries of the Asia/Pacific region. All told with the author's sly humor and grand sense of adventure as he tracks down the most beautiful of the beautiful with his camera, always mindful of respecting the customs of the lands and the people who share their environment with these elegant flowers. A wonderful travelog full of personal stories and anecdotes and a... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2171 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2171 and they're all drawn freehand with a mouse. Good old AppleMac! Better known as ad man and photographer author Max Fulcher returns to his first love. Drawing. Since early childhood his use of watercolour and pen-and-wash has stood him in good stead. 40 beautiful full colour illustrations The surprise came with his first computer - MaX took hold of that mouse and never let go until his beautiful freehand illustrations came tumbling... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2170 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2170 "In the enchanted orchid Max Fulcher has brought together his talent for photography and his knowledge and love of the alluring blooms. This is not just a how-to-grow-'em book. It's an entertaining read - as warm and witty as the author - interspersed with his gorgeous photographs. Armed with camera and diary, Max has tracked orchids across Asia and the Pacific for two decades. He recounts many of his orchid experiences on the orchid trail... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2050 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2050 one man's journey | ... co-owner of a successful advertising agency at thirty and a noted marketing authority before returning to his creative roots at 47 MaX encouraged a raft of talented baby boomers in their professional start and led an experienced marketing and promotional team before setting his cap on Asia and the Pacific ...the orchid teacher |  " ... by using nature as the creative signal (in my case the orchid) we might... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2049 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2049 browse FLORIS art gallery  - no orchids here, but loads of tropical flora. visit MaX's orchid artworks - nature's colours, drawn from live specimens. begin drawing with a mouse - this could be the start of something big. take a peek into - StripTease - all done with flowers. Family secrets revealed. http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2048 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=2048 orchids galore | landscape format - section one of my orchid PHOTOFILE orchids straight up | portrait format - section two of the orchid PHOTOFILE Asia roundabout | every time I head for Europe I trip over Asia and stay there. jade - the stone of heaven | an eclectic treasure trove of pieces purchased in early trips to Hong Kong and mainland China. vandas growin' wild | running madly upwards on trees and old bridge... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1957 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1957 The illustration is completed with the addition of bark (Cattleya orchids hate soil) and a funky abstract pot for good measure.This yellow Cattleya is one of the illustrations included in my book StripTease - it's all done with flowers. Why Striptease? Well, when you strip away the artwork's colour layers the actual line drawing of the visual is an interest in itself. The effect is even better demonstrated in many of the flower studies in the... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1956 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1956 The Jade Street Trader  Miss McNally, Cecilia - Cec to friends - dealt in jade, old gold and antiques. A leading light right along Australia's eastern seabord she adored her trips to Hong Kong and sometimes I went along for the ride. "Life is a library - remember the books are there, only on loan." Miss M chose to stay at the Y adjacent to the Peninsular Hotel. I stayed at The Pen. >>>>>The... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1947 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1947 If you can make a simple line drawing you can start illustrating orchids on the desktop. It takes a certain amount of concentration to coordinate what your eye sees on the screen to what your hand (and mind) do with the mouse but, promise, it does all come together. "Practice makes perfect." Who said that! Notice I added a couple of budding flowers to make a better composition.Use the pencil tool that Adobe Illustrator supplies, and the... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1877 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1877 A gorgeous blonde American woman was visiting Down Under on an extended lecture tour for the Australian Womens' Weekly. We sat in my orchid garden in inner city Sydney, a quiet space little more than a mile from the famous Opera House. Eve, we had only recently become acquainted, was being introduced to my young account executives away from the office atmosphere. She suddenly spoke out. "Max, you are on the move? Leaving the agency?"... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1868 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1868 Pathway to the flowers (chapter 15) Some of the world's most beautiful sights are waiting for you in this part of the planet. Draw an arc, a kind of pivot across the Pacific - Sydney to San Francisco. Now sweep it across to Asia, Japan and down through China to Burma, then back down under Australia to rejoin Sydney. You've circled my home territory where I travel most, with camera and sketch pad - continues Colour me Blue (Chapter 3)... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1845 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1845 Twenty two dollars!  A bargain. But Borobudur book research had failed to reveal the long walks through endless avenues swarming with trinket vendors that complicated the actual arrival. Stupefying heat haze, aggressive street hawkers - the detail desk editors choose to ignore. At least, unlike the Sultan;s palace, Buddha allowed straw hats. Then the magnificence of the moment hit. Four galleries, the plateau, three terraces... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1844 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1844 Botanists and adventurers have climbed Mount Kinabalu since mid nineteenth century. Six degrees north of the equator and located In Borneo, it soars 13,455 feet above sea level - the highest peak between New Guinea and the Asian mainland. Orchids grow there. Cool. Cool growing orchids, that is. Ever chasing orchids along the byways of Asia and the Pacific I found myself in a bus load of tourists screaming along the shores of the South... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1836 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1836 The Chairman of our ad agency, an avid orchidist, gave me first lessons in potting epiphytes - air-growing orchids. "They're tenacious little buggers - the way they cling to sandstone rocks and trees. Their root system fascinates me. The flowers are actually a bonus." Bells rang and the mirror image hit home. Barney could well be describing our young trainees - they exuded that self same tenacity. the ability to catch on fast and hold tight... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1756 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1756 "In the enchanted orchid Max Fulcher has brought together his talent for photography and his knowledge and love of the alluring blooms. This is not just a how-to-grow-'em book. It's an entertaining read - as warm and witty as the author - interspersed with his gorgeous photographs. Armed with camera and diary, Max has tracked orchids across Asia and the Pacific for two decades. He recounts many of his orchid experiences on the orchid... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1750 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1750 Outing orchids in hard to find places is bound to deepen into more than passing fancy once the bug bites, but orchidmania has yet to take entire possession of this body and soul - because I have one burning question.  What's with the auto-flash and black velvet backgrounds? Orchids can stand on their own feet. Why misappropriate nature? Soft early light is all the camera needs to weave a magic spell. Unlike night-blooming cactus... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1737 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1737 Rainforests are richly fertile environments - beautiful but perilous places to dwell. Hazardous mountainsides, dank undergrowth, impossible heat and humidity, darkness - everything struggles for light. Strange and often dangerous plants and animals, malaria and a host of other tropical diseases are waiting in the wings.Compare creativity and electrifying big city living to that same steaming scenario. Push comes to shove in the attempt to... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1715 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1715 Max Fulcher wears many hats. Author, city born and country raised, he was college educated, trained in National Service (Royal Australian Navy), became co-owner of a successful advertising agency at thirty and a noted marketing authority before returning to his creative roots at 47. He encouraged a raft of talented baby boomers in their professional start and led an experienced marketing and promotional team before setting his cap on Asia and... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1714 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1714 Jade, you take my breath away. Handling the celestial stone brings deep emotional responses and my initial reaction is to ignore the history and design intent of the piece and intuitively go with the feeling that generates from deep within the stone itself. China, the oldest continuous civilisation in the world reveres the mystical stone and places it even in higher esteem than gold. 'Jade is Heaven,'  according to I Ching, the... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1713 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1713 The second edition of The Enchanted Orchid continues to make new friends. It never ceases to amaze me how many owners of the first edition keep coming back for more. Some like the pictures. Others go for the stories. And how-to's on orchid growing help keep interest up and running. To take a new tack or go with the present production? That is the question. The old adage if it ain't broke don't fix it may apply, yet the double spread of the... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1608 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1608 An almighty hail storm hit our district last November. Gardens were stripped bare. Huge river gums snapped - toppled. No leaf or flower left in the storm's wake. Except, bless 'em, our little Stonehenge circle of old bridge timbers where Vanda orchids flower in profusion. It's a secluded part of the garden, right by a rainforest gully that a friend named The Lost Garden. We already had a Grevillea Hill, Pawpaw Island, and Lake Leaky. They... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1601 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1601 Freelancing travel and garden stories is no huge moneymaker. Thankfully, along came Mac and he who said he would never own a camera or a computer put the two together doing promotional work for selected clients, hunting orchis, and generally leading the footloose life. While working the high spots around Australia and the South China Sea sent a spectacular buzz, short R&R visits to exotic gardens were what made my day. After week-long... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1600 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1600 The opening lines of my first magazine story popped out to bite me yesterday ... 'I'm having a love affair with Asia. Maybe you are further in than I am.'  If I knew then ... The past is ever ready to hop in the cot as we cosy-up the future. The trick is to focus in the present. Be aware. No befores. No afters. Light the bonfire and on to the pyre go heaps of faded magazine stories and loads of old tear sheets/ Travel... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1599 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1599 2+0+0+7 = 9. A nine year, and well under way. Global understanding. Orchids flowering at odd times. Art classes. Photo opportunities. The world up-side down (I live Down Under) and a seminar on every corner. Hard to know whether we're coming or going - or which way is up. I've decided to take a break, maybe another orchid book, most certainly add to the fast-growing gallery of orchid illustrations. A year devoted to creativity and making this... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1598 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1598 "Life is a library - and the books are only on loan."  Miss McNally, Cecilia - Cec to friends - dealt in jade, old gold and antiques. A leading light right along Australia's eastern seabord she adored her trips to Hong Kong and sometimes I went along for the ride. Miss M chose to stay at the Y adjacent to the Peninsular Hotel. I stayed at The Pen. Through a flurry of white liveried bellboys she would enter The... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1597 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1597 Far and away in a land Down Under two pretty ladies live in a garden of orchids. One wakes the orchids in the morning, the other puts them to sleep at night.                            This permits yours truly to spend happy hours writing at the computer... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1594 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1594 Sometimes you must be cruel to be kind. But orchids are tenacious little blighters so when a Stanhopea gets too huge to handle there are often no other options. Secateurs go only so far. When dividing to multiply you need only a blunt handyman saw - most homes have one of those. Unlike a magician's woman-in-half trick, you end up with several odd bits. Plant them in bark (the little darlings bloom downwards through their nether regions)... http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1534 http://maxfulcher.com/?process=views/article.php&articleId=1534 Somewhere in the mists of time, before the ninth century, ancient Javanese began building an epic monument that signified a gentler way of life. Borobudur. Mysteriously, the shrine was abandoned and slowly blanketed by tropical jungles where it slept for a thousand years until Lieutenant-Governor Thomas Stamford described it in his 1815 diaries and restoration began. The story goes that the earliest visitor to Borobudur was an outlaw pursued...