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“This is my favourite orchid find, the Queen of Sheba (Thelymitra
variegata),” says Jill Harrison. “It’s a sun orchid so if it is not in a
sunny spot when you visit you might miss it because the flower is
closed up. I took images from a variety of different angles, mainly
focusing on the centre. Light wasn’t really a problem as it was a
sunny day with thin cloud cover acting as a great diffuser.”
Canon EOS 450D, 100mm macro lens, 1/100s @ F5, ISO 200.AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY JUNE 2016
Favourite locations
If you think wildflower photography is something you’d like to try,
your first consideration has to be about when you want to travel,
how far you want to go, and how much time you have available.
Each region has unique wildflower species generated by its
distinctive environmental features such as soil type, fauna, plant
systems, geography, and weather. Due to seasonal conditions, you
cannot expect to see particular species flowering in the same place
at the same time each year. Contact the nearest Visitor Information
Centre for the latest information on what is flowering best and where.
Carry a notebook in which to record the location where you
have photographed the wildflowers. Photograph the flower,
leaves, and environment, or take notes to assist with identification
in a wildflower book or on-line later. With thousands of species,
precise identification can be very difficult. Two resources worth
seeking out are Eddy Wajon’s set of reference books, ‘Colour
Guide to Spring Wildflowers of Western Australia’, published by
Wajon Publishing Company, and the Department of Parks and
Wildlife’s FloraBase, available at https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au
Stanley and Kaisa Breeden: “I think our favourite location is
the south west corner of WA. That is wildflower country. There’s
no better place in the world to photograph wildflowers. Other
favourite places are the Blue Mountains, NSW, the Grampians in
Victoria, and there are magical places in Tasmania. And of course
if you get winter rain in the desert country, after a month or two,
in August or September you will find carpets and fields of flowers.
You’ve got to be looking. If you’re not looking and hurrying along,
you’re not going to see these things.”
Bruce Cooper: “It’s a big country and orchids are small.
Many native orchid flowers range from a couple of millimetres
to a couple of centimetres. Many stay unseen by even regular
bushwalkers and tuning one’s eye into ‘seeing’ the various forms
takes time. My wife Jean is very good at this, regularly seeing
orchids that I breeze past or worse just about to step on. Native
orchids can be found in just about any national park across
Australia and various species bloom at just about any month of
the year. National parks close to Sydney containing native orchids
include the Royal National Park, Ku-Ring-Gai National Park,
Lane Cove National Park, and the Blue Mountains National Park.
Particularly rich native orchid populations occur in south-west
Western Australia.”
Jill Harrison: “In our urban environment you can find wildflowers
in nature reserves. This can be as little as a bush buffer zone
between residential or industrial areas and the road, or larger
bushland reserves that have been put aside by local communities.
Botanical gardens like Kings Park in Perth are fabulous places to
photograph wildflowers especially during spring.”“Don’t go out and buy an expensive macro lens
straight away. Experiment first with what you have
and learn to use your manual camera settings.”