KWINANA/ROCKINGHAM/MANDURAH BRANCH

The format for the May general meeting was a Members’ Night. The first presentation was by Rosalie and Geoff Barritt who showed a series of photographs taken on their recent trip to China. The photos featured many of the better-known landmarks, such as the Great Wall, the Terracotta Army and the Three Gorges Dam and also others that provided a closer look at the China of today.

The photos highlighted the large scale of development that is taking place in China but also showed that there are still areas of natural scenic beauty to be found. In many areas it was not possible to take a landscape photograph without including crowds of locals, but Rosalie and Geoff found that early in the day there were less people around and it was possible to photograph the scenery minus the crowds. The presentation finished with photos of the iconic Pandas taken at a captive breeding centre.

We all agreed that it must have been a wonderful trip and thanked Rosalie and Geoff for sharing their experiences with us.

The next presenter was Colin Prickett who showed a series of photographs taken during the spring and summer.  The majority showed Orchids taken around Perth and the South West and included Merrit’s Spider Orchid, Cape Spider Orchid, Exotic Spider Orchid, Margaret River Spider Orchid, Giant Spider Orchid and Grand Spider Orchid.

Also shown were several photographs of Red Beaks, which flowered in large numbers following the Margaret River bushfires. In one area near Ellensbrook (north of Margaret River) a patch of Red Beaks exhibiting a green colour variant was located, these are known as a Lutea form.

Other photographs were of birds, including Osprey, Black Shouldered Kite, Marsh Harrier, Bar-tailed Godwit, a Pacific Plover (photographed in Fiji) and two forms of the Reef Heron (White and Grey forms – also photographed in Fiji).  Colin Prickett