Tasmania has a wonderful array of native orchids and last month I joined an Eco Tours Tasmania trip to search for and photograph many species in the Arthur Pieman Conservation Area. I have a great many images to share, and I am starting with some sun orchids, which are known collectively as “Thelymitra”.

The sun orchids were just starting to appear in late October in the Arthur Pieman Conservation Reserve. Thelymitra aristata (great sun-orchid).

This shot was taken with a much shallower depth of field, and an umbrella raised to shield the flower from direct sunlight.

Thelymitra flexuosa – twisted sun orchid

Thelymitra aggericola, the Bleak Sun Orchid

Thelymitra aggericola – close up

A very nice looking specimen of Thelymitra rubra (pink sun-orchid), near the Nelson Bay River

Thelymitra rubra (pink sun-orchid) – close up

Another one 🙂

Photographing the orchids was an interesting challenge and resulted in some camera settings I normally only use for auroras! As the orchids are only supported by very slender stalks, they are very susceptible to bobbing around  a lot in even the slightest breeze. Hence I found myself using ISO’s in the thousands with a wide open aperture despite the bright middle of the day light.

I also found myself wanting to fire off multiple shots of the same composition, just to make sure I caught a sharp image without subject motion blur. Generally speaking I subscribe to a “compose more/shoot less” philosophy when it comes to my photography, but given the subject matter this time I was firing off a lot more shots than usual. I must say the fungi of autumn, given they dont move at all – is an easier subject to shoot – although the orchids were just as enjoyable and fascinating.

Finding them of course is probably the toughest part – just like the fungi!