Cack-handed Day

October 25, 2026 | paulamyes

Newly mobile, I had such high hopes for this trip to Bernard Park in the Wheatbelt metropolis of Northam. I walked the dog through the park the day before and saw plenty of bird activity. Everything was checked and packed carefully the night before and the car had a full tank of petrol. What could go wrong? I pulled up in the carpark just after dawn and the conditions were looking perfect. I could see and hear plenty of birds. Then I found out what could go wrong. Me! I just couldn’t do anything right. It was as if I’d never picked up a camera before. Forty years of photographic knowledge and experience had evaporated. A lot of the birds got so bored sitting around waiting for me to get my act together that they took off in search of a better photographer. I missed lots of sitters because I was just so slow in sorting out focus, exposure and composition. After an hour and a half of abject failure I threw in the towel and called it a day.

I’ve put the two best photos below and they are quite frankly very, very pedestrian.

Three Little Birds. Kanamit or Welcome Swallows (Hirundo neoxxena). Bernard Park, Northam, Western Australia.

A female Choonya or Long-necked turtle aka oblong turtle (Chelodina oblonga) having laid its eggs slowly makes its way back to the safety of the river. Bernard park, Northam, Western Australia.

The only upside to the day was that I saw two of the Long-necked Turtles. It’s egg laying season for them and they come up from the river – no mean feet as the bank is very high and steep at this point – and lay their eggs. They will have hatched out at this spot and every year they will lay their eggs there. Their offspring will do the same. Thirty years ago I used to see turtles quite regularly, but now they are very rare so to see 2 within five minutes of each other was something rather special. This time of year sees the turtles try to cross busy roads to get to their nesting sites, so if you live in these areas please be careful as you drive. A word to the wise. If you ever feel the need to help one not get run over by picking it up and moving it to a safe location a word of caution. Make sure that the rear end is pointing away from your body. Long-necked Turtles void as a defence mechanism – it is an incredibly foul smelling mess that is very difficult to wash off yourself and out of your clothes. Once smelt never forgotten.

The issues regarding my blog that I spoke about a couple of weeks ago have not resolved. I still can’t link images from my account at 500px to my pages here at WordPress. I had extensive communications with both companies and each is blaming the other and I’m the meat in the sandwich. I hope in another couple of weeks to find a permanent solution.

“Little things…

October 4, 2026 | paulamyes

… please little minds.”

Ars Amatoria by Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) 43BC-17AD (?)

“Stay sill damn it!” Common garden snail, Cornu aspersum.

The recent orchid expedition made me get my macro lenses and flash out of the cupboard and consequently I’ve been playing around with it in the garden. I had this brilliant idea to improve my focus stacking technique by taking photos of snails. I mistakenly thought that they’d be a good subject as they don’t move much. I was very much mistaken. The little beggars move around quite a lot. The tentacles that their eyes are mounted on are in a constant state of motion and so my attempts at focus stacking failed. Not to be deterred I just stopped the lens down to f11 or f16 (well into diffraction territory on Micro Four Thirds) and just carried on taking picture of little critters in the garden.

The focus stack even failed on this. Dunno what I’m doing wrong.

Yikes! Don’t know what this was amongst the coriander.

Oh dear! The Beloved Significant Other is not going to be happy with these aphids.

I didn’t know that aphids were translucent.

Seeing Red

September 27, 2026 | paulamyes

Things have taken a dire turn at Paul Amyes Photography. For some reason the links to the images are all of a sudden broken. I’m not sure what has happened, but it does mean that I’m having to go through all 616 pages and re-link the photos. It is a mammoth undertaking and will keep me occupied for some while.

I saw the accompanying image when we went to Beverley for the Spring Equinox Flower Festival. I couldn’t resist the red and the blue. It was taken with one of my everyday cameras. I did take some photos of the flower exhibits, but, they were a bit meh when compared to this one.

High As A Kite

September 20, 2026 | paulamyes

According to the Cambridge Dictionary to say someone is as “high as a kite” is to say they are either intoxicated or extremely happy. Currently I’m in the extremely happy category as we have been having regular visits from a juvenile Black-shouldered Kite. It spends mosts of its time perched on the TV aerial and can often be heard chattering away – sort of a cross between a chirp and a squawk. We had a bit of a mouse plague earlier and this bird is probably the result of that. Normally Black-shouldered kites breed only once a year in the period August to January, but when there is an abundance of food they will breed twice.

Boorh-ga by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — A juvenile Black Shouldered Kite, Boorh-ga in Nyoongar, perching on our TV areial. (Elanus axillaris). York, Western australia. Olympus EM1x with OM System 100-400mm lens.

The photos are the best I’ve managed to get so far, but the up the chuff view point (a bird photography technical term) is never a good look. I’ve seen it hunting over the open fields in front of us so hopefully I’ll manage to get some birds in flight shots soon.

Whether The Weather

September 13, 2026September 18, 2026 | paulamyes

Whether the weather be fine

Or whether the weather be not,

Whether the weather be cold

Or whether the weather be hot,

We’ll weather the weather

Whatever the weather,

Whether we like it or not.

Anonymous

Winter — The morning mist on the Avon River. Western Australia. Panasonic G9 with Panasonic Leica 12-60mm f2.8-4 lens.

I like the pass of the seasons. I like how everything changes and provides different experiences. I like going out down the Avon River on a cold winters morning with thick mist. The experience is very different – vision is limited to around 5-10m and sounds are strangely muted. When looking for wildlife you think that nothing is near and then suddenly it looms out of mist. Sometimes I wonder who is more surprised at the encounter, me or the animal.

Family Outing by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — A femaleAustralian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata) and her twenty one ducklings swiming in the Avon River. Two weeks later I saw her and had just five remaining ducklings. Panasonic Lumix G9 mk ii with Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f4.5-6.3 lens.

Kakak by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Kakak or Little Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos). Panasonic Lumix G9 mk ii with PanaLeica 100-400mm lens.

Bambon by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — A male Bambon or Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris). Panasonic Lumix G9 mk ii with PanaLeica 100-400mm lens.

Doornart by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — The sun making an effort to break through the mist creates a warm haze. Doornart or Ring-necked Parrot (Barnardius zonarius subspecies semitorquatus). Panasonic Lumix G9 mk ii with PanaLeica 100-400mm lens.

Doolor by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Doolor or Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) waiting for the sun to break through. Panasonic Lumix G9 mk ii with PanaLeica 100-400mm lens.

Living in a farming community the topic of conversation often turns to the weather. Right now people are talking about how little rain there has been, how cold it is, how they’re looking forward to summer, and how they’re worried about the forthcoming mother of all El Niño’s is coming with forecast temperatures for the Wheatbelt being in the mid to high 40sºC. The local farmers I’ve spoken with are all saying that crop yields will be severely impacted. Generally El Niños don’t effect us in Western Australia like they do in the Eastern States so hopefully this summer won’t too much of a feat of endurance.

It’s That Time Already ?

September 6, 2026September 18, 2026 | paulamyes

I must confess that since we got our new puppy – Bertie – I’ve been rather busy. Time just seems to have slipped away. So the other morning when I was reading the news on ABC I came across a story about how the orchid season in the Wheatbelt had kicked off early. It caught me completely unawares. Normally what I do is draw up a list of what I want to see with when and where and then see where there is an overlap so I can get the most bang for my buck. Then I get my orchid kit together and make sure that everything works and is ready to go. That hasn’t happened this year. A mad whirlwind of frenetic activity saw me pack my bag and find an old list that for some reason I didn’t enact. So quickly organised I headed out on my first orchid hunt of the season.

Eastern Curly-locks by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Eastern Curly-locks. Wandoo National Park, Western Australia. Olympus EM1 mk ii with Olympus M.40-150mm F2.8 + MC-14 teleconverter.

The target species was the Eastern Curly Locks (Thelymitra maculata). I know of two places where they occur. One location, Wandoo National Park, is easy to get to and the plants are easily found near the road. That means orchid poachers often dig them up for selling illegally. The other spot I know (I won’t divulge its location) has more flowers, but, is harder to get to and involves a lot of walking and careful searching. Wandoo National Park was chosen as this was all a bit of a last minute decision.

Dwarf Pink Fairy Orchid by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Dwarf Pink Fairy Orchid, Caladenia reptans subspecies reptans. Olympus EM1 mk ii with Olympus M.40-150mm F2.8 + MC-14 teleconverter.

Hare Orchid by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Hare Orchid, Leporella fimbriata. Olympus EM1 mk ii with Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro lens

Banded Greenhood by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Banded Greenhood, Pterostylis vittata. Olympus EM1 mk ii with Olympus 30mm f/3.5 macro lens

From the description in the ABC article I was expecting to see quite a show as the areas has other species of orchid that should be in flower as well. As I walked through the bush I saw very little orchid activity. Out of the 8 species that should be flowering I saw 3 and there were only a few of those. At one point I wished I’d had my birding kit as I managed to flush several quail as I walked around. The irony being when I’ve gone birding there I didn’t see any. I zig zagged through the bush and didn’t find any Eastern Curly Locks. Dejected I settled for photographing some Dwarf Pink Fairy Orchids (Caladenia reptans subspecies reptans) and some Banded Greenhoods (Pterostylis vittata). I’d promised my partner I’d only be a couple of hours so I packed my kit away and headed back to the car. I took a slightly different route back as I didn’t want to go back through the tangle of sheaoak that had slowed me down while on the outward journey. I stopped to look at some carnivorous Red Ink Sundews (Drosera erythrorhiza) when out of the corner of my eye I spied 2 Eastern Curly Locks. So I had ticked the first orchid off of this years list.

Hong Kong Garden?

August 9, 2026September 18, 2026 | paulamyes

Cairns Chinese Friendship Garden by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — The pavillion at the Cairns Chinese Friendship Garden. Cairns Botanic Garden, Queensland.

No it’s the the Cairns Chinese Friendship Garden in the Cairns Botanic Garden actually.

Grand View Garden, its layout is based upon the book Dream of a Red Chamber by Cao Xue Qin. The garden reflects the style of the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns during the Qing dynasty, although they are a modern creation. May 2007. Canon EOS 300d with Canon EF-s 18-55 f3.5-5.6.

The Japanese Garden in Jurong Lake Gardens, Singapore. February 1994. Olympus OM4 with an Olympus 35-105mm lens on Fuji Velvia. Time has not been kind to the emulsion and the colours have started to shift.

Love a good botanic garden. I’ve been to some quite memorable ones over the years. The Grand View Garden in Beijing, the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens, Kings Park in Perth, Jurong Lake Gardens in Singapore, and the gardens and courtyards of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. The Cairns Botanic Garden has a lot to offer from walking trails to an arts centre to walking tours exploring the animals and plants that are found there.

Yours truly at Jack Barnes Mangrove Boardwalk wondering where all the birds have gone while being feasted upon by mosquitoes. Courtesy of Helen Amyes.

Unfortunately we went to the Jack Barnes Mangrove Boardwalk first thing and that didn’t work out so when we got to the Botanic Gardens it was qute late on in the morning. It was a Saturday and the park was quite busy so there wasn’t as much wildlife around as we had hoped. But, having said that we went and walked the Rainforest Broadwalk and did a turn around the fresh and salt water lakes followed by a visit to the Chinese Friendship Gardens. It’s definitely a place I’d want to visit again should I find myself in Cairns again.

Great Egret by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — A Great Egret (Ardea alba modesta) having a bad feather moment. Cairns Botanic Garden.

Australian Brushturkey by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Australian Brushturkey, Alectura lathami. Cairns Botanic Gardens.

Metallic Starling by on 500px.com — Creepy eyes. Metallic Starling, Aplonis metallica. Cairns Botanic Garden.

Torresian Crow, Corvus orru. Cairns Chinese Friendship Garden, Cairns Queensland.

Rainbow Bee-eater, Merops ornatus. Cairns Botanic Garden, Queensland

Todays title references Siouxsie And The Banshees – Hong Kong Garden.

Life In The Jungle

August 2, 2026September 20, 2026 | paulamyes

Kurunda is a small town on the Atherton Tableland some 25Km from Cairns in the middle of the rainforest. Originally it was primarily a timber town, but in the 1970’s it became a bit of bohemian enclave and was thus marketed as the ‘village in the rainforest’ and it became a major tourist drawcard and continues to be to this day. Most tourists make the trip up from Cairns via the very quaint railway, the Skyrail, or a combination of the two. We chose to drive up the narrow and incredibly steep and windy road. We wanted to get there early and have the freedom to come and go as we wanted without being conscious of timetables. All have their merits.

Kuranda Station by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — The very characterful Kuranda railway station in Queensland.

For me the major attraction is that the rainforest surround Kuranda is the world’s oldest living rainforest and the town has a network of 5 walk trails that enable you to explore. If you combine the Jumrun Walk, the Jungle Walk, River Walk and Market Walk you have loop that will take you in a circuit around the town of 3.8Km. It’s all very well laid out and well signposted. There is an enormous amount of wildlife that calls the rainforest home including the very rare but iconic Southern Cassowary. For us we saw very little wildlife. The forest is so dense and dark it makes seeing things very difficult. I did manage to take a few pictures but I was forced to use very high ISOs and slow shutter speeds which meant that I only got one sharp photo of a bird. The scenery more than made up for it though – it was absolutely amazing.

Waking Around Kuranda by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — The River Walk takes you along the banks of the Baron River.

Pale-yellow Robin by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — The only decent bird photo I managed to get. Pale-yellow Robin, Tregellasia capito nana.

By 10:30 we’d finished the walk and walked along the main drag looking for a place to get a brew. The place was pretty deserted with the overwhelming majority of shops being closed. In the shop windows was all this kitsch “hippy wear”. Does anyone still wear tie dye and cheesecloth anymore? It seems sad that they’re trying to cash in on the whole notion of Kurunda being a centre for an alternative lifestyle and all they can think to sell is bad caricature of the the 1970’s. Eventually we did find a cafe that was open, but, when we got inside the two staff were more engrossed in their social media feeds than serving customers so we left. Luckily for us the local IGA supermarket was open and we got some drinks and morning tea from there.

On leaving Kuranda we went to the Barron Falls Lookout. The walk from the carpark is along a suspend broad walk that keeps you high in the tree canopy. It was a stunning experience walking through the jungle like that. The views out over the water fall weren’t too shabby either. Being the end of the wet season there wasn’t as much water going over the falls, but, it was still very impressive.

Baron Falls by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — The Baron Falls viewed from the Baron Falls Lookout. Kuranda, Queensland.

If you are in or around Cairns then definitely visit Kurunda. If you stay clear of the hippy shops and just explore the natural environment you’ll have a ball.

In terms of photography – well I hardly used my Panasonic G9 mk ii, but the little Leica D-Lux Type -108 acquitted itself with flying colours. The camera is a very tactile experience. There is a shutter speed dial and an aperture ring. Select your aspect ratio from 4:3, 3:2, 16×9, and 1:1 and put the camera in auto ISO and it’s a delight to use. The lens renders images beautifully and the RAW files have plenty of latitude if you do your part. I was very glad I brought it on this trip.

The title of today’s post is from the late great John Mayall’s classic track “Life In The Jungle”.

Miraculous Wetlands

July 26, 2026September 20, 2026 | paulamyes

Helen walking around Cattana Wetlands, Queensland.

When you first look at Cattana Wetlands it’s hard to get your head around the fact that it’s only been like this since 2009. The rainforest, the salt and fresh water lakes look like they have been there forever. It’s hard to believe that up to the 1990’s it was a sugar cane farm and up to 2005 there was a sand and gravel quarry there. Now the rehabilitated site has had over 200 bird species recorded, mammals include Sugar-gliders and Striped Possums, and there is the occasional saltwater crocodile. Crocodiles aren’t the largest predator to found in the Cattana Wetlands. That honour goes to the Australian Scrub Python (Simalia kinghorni) which can grow up to 5m long and weigh just short of 30Kg. They’e not poisonous, but I wouldn’t ask one for a cuddle. We didn’t see either pythons or crocodiles when we visited.

The Kingfisher Hide at Cattana Wetlands, Queensland.

“Where are the birds?” the Kingfisher Bird Hide at Cattana Wetlands.

The wetlands is comprised of 80ha of rainforest and five small pools or lakes. Some are freshwater others are saltwater. There are several walking tracks through the reserve which are graded and are accessible to those who have mobility issues. The trails are well signposted and there is a self guided tour that has information boards describing various features. There is a written guide to the tour which is worth reading, but, it is not necessary to have it. We enjoyed it so much that we visited it twice and we saw different things each time. To my mind it’s the best nature experience in Cairns. I’d love to be able to spend a week there just going at dusk and dawn. It’s definitely one of those places where the more hours you put in the more you’ll see.