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.

A Reconciliation…

November 16, 2025 | paulamyes

…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.

Pink Enamel Orchid, by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Pink Enamel Orchid, Elythranthera emarginata. Wandoo National Park, Western Australia.

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.

Little Laughing Leek Orchid, by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Little Laughing Leek Orchid, Prasophyllum gracile. Wandoo National Park, Western Australia.

Pouched Leek Orchid by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Pouched Leek Orchid, Prasophyllum cyphochilum. Wandoo National Park, Western Australia.

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.

Custard Orchid by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Custard Orchid, Thelymitra villosa. Wandoo National Park, Western Australia.

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.

Leopard Orchid, by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Leopard Orchid, Thelymitra benthamiana. Wandoo National Park, Western Australia.

All in all I was a very happy boy when I got home.

Purple Enamel Orchid by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Purple Enamel Orchid, Elythranthera brunonis. Wandoo National Park, Western Australia.

Orchids Are Like Buses

August 21, 2022 | paulamyes

Yep you read that right. You know how you can stand at a bus stop for ages and not see a single one and then suddenly three come along together? Well orchids are like that. I’ve been walking the same patch of woodland looking for the Curly Locks Orchid for years without seeing a single one and then the other day low and behold there were three of them just standing there.

Curly Locks by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Curly Locks, Thelymitra spiralis. Wandoo National Park, Western Australia.

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks walking the Wandoo forest looking for various orchids. I’ve bumped into a male emus and his brood (too quick to photograph), met bob tailed lizards and countless Western Grey Kangaroos (again too quick to photograph). So even if I’ve not found the particular flower I’m looking for it has still been quite an experience.

Bobtailed Lizard by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — The slower bob tailed lizards are easier to photograph than fleeing emus and kangaroos.

Speaking of finding orchids well I’ve seen plenty. On Thursdays outing to Wambyn Reserve I saw eleven different species and was amazed by how early some of them were.

Clubbed Spider Orchid by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — A very early flowering Clubbed Spider Orchid, Caladenia longiclavata. Wambyn Reserve, Western Australia.

Little Pink Fairy Orchid by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Little Pink Fairy Orchid or dwarf pink fairy orchid, Caladenia reptans subspecies reptans. Wandoo National Park, Western Australia.

Sugar Orchid by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Sugar Orchid, Ericksonella saccharata. Wambyn Reserve, Western Australia.

Frog Greenhood by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Frog Greenhood, Pterostylis sargentii. Wambyn Reserve, Western Australia.

Jug Orchid by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Jug orchid or recurved shell orchid, Pterostylis recurva. Wandoo National Park, Western Australia.

Common Donkey Orchid by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Common Donkey Orchid or wallflower orchid, Diuris corymbosa. Wambyn Reserve, Western Australia.

Stark White Spider Orchid by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Stark White Spider Orchid, Caladenia longicauda subsp eminens. Wambyn Reserve, Western Australia.

Photographically I’ve been on a bit of a full frame kick preferring to either use the Sony A7r ii and sigma 105mm macro lens or the Canon EOS6d with Canon 100mm macro lens. All the shots are lit with a flash being used as the key light and natural light as the fill. I’ve enjoyed the change but my back doesn’t. There’s a huge weight difference between the full frame cameras, lenses and flash equipment compared to the usual Olympus micro four thirds system I usually use. But to be honest shooting at base ISO using artificial lighting and only printing at A3+ I can’t see any real advantage to shooting full frame so this next week I’ll go back to using the Olympus kit.

paulamyes

This is the site for Australian visual journalist and writer Paul Amyes.

Wandoo National Park

It’s That Time Already ?

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A Reconciliation…

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Orchids Are Like Buses

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