Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is an aquatic perennial, it is native to Tropical Asia and Queensland Australia. It is commonly cultivated in water gardens and it is also the national flower of India and Vietnam. An interesting fact about this flower is that under favourable circumstances, its seeds may remain viable for many years, with the oldest recorded lotus germination being from that of seeds 1,300 years old recovered from a dry lakebed in northeastern China.
This photo was taken in Hong Kong and it was taken with the D800e with the 200-400mm f/4 at 400mm. The settings were 1/125 sec at f/4 and ISO 100 and I was using a tripod at the time which allows me to use that slow shutter speed. In order to get the flower evenly lit, you can either shoot it on an overcast day, or early morning (which I did). I used the super telephoto because the flowers were far away, but also the narrow field of view allows me to isolate that single flower and make it stands out from the background. I hope you enjoy the photo and feel free to share it around.
Jonathan