…of sorts. I wrote recently about my attempt to abandon my Olympus cameras and move to Sony and how it was an unhappy experience. Well last weekend I went out orchid hunting in Wandoo National Park and I took my Olympus kit with me and it made for a far happier experience.
The main reason was weight. Looking for orchids in the Wandoo National Park is a matter of walking lots. It is a big park – 463.68 square Km – and while you can drive in on numerous gravel roads and 4WD tracks it only gets you so far and then you have to walk over quite varied terrain to find anything. Humping heavy photographic equipment, water, food, extra layers, first aid kit etc gets old really fast. So anything that can reduce the load is most welcome.
The second reason was the rear LCD panel. Having one I could actually see in bright sunlight again was in a word fantastic. Add to that it was of the flippy flappy variety which meant I could twist it to see it irrespective of the camera position meant that I didn’t have to contort myself into impossible positions. It’s amazing how such small things can make life so much easier and more pleasurable.
The orchids were scarce this year. Where there would be literally a carpet of custard orchids there were just one or two specimens. But, although the numbers were down there were plenty of different species to look at and photograph. I went primarily to photograph leopard orchids and I only found them after about 5 hours of looking. It was like the day’s grande finale.
All in all I was a very happy boy when I got home.
Purple Enamel Orchid, Elythranthera brunonis. Wandoo National Park, Western Australia.
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