Happy New Year to you, our dear readers! This is the first blog post for quite some time, and we wanted to relive the amazing time we had during our photography workshop Netra and I conducted at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, in Lamington National Park.
October 2024 saw our second workshop following on from the very successful first one at the end of 2023. We had three return guests last year, which was wonderful, and eight new ones, who all arrived with great expectations of what to get out of the four-night stay at this spectacular venue.
O’Reilly’s is a world-class location for bird photographers. There are ample opportunities to do the many walks starting near the retreat and investigate the inhabitants and take beautiful images of the local wildlife. The most famous birds found at O’Reilly’s are the Regent Bowerbirds. The males with their spectacular black and yellow plumage are not to be missed and we are not at all surprised, that the O’Reilly’s family picked this species to be their logo.
From September to January, the male regents migrate from coastal regions up to these high altitudes to woo the ladies. They have been very closely loved by the O’Reilly’s team and are very habituated to humans. Queensland National Parks have provided the retreat with a very strict license to feed wildlife at certain times, and this means that getting photos of this normally much shyer species can be more manageable than in other areas within its distribution range.
But let’s not just talk about the Regent Bowerbird. There are many others in residence that can be heard, seen and even photographed. The key to our bird photography workshop is the intimate knowledge of wildlife that exists (not just) here and we strive to locate them for our guests. We don’t bring wild animals to photograph like others do, because that is not true wildlife photography. You can do that kind of photography inside a city studio without being in this beautiful environment. As you may be able to tell, we are HUGE fans of the retreat and all it has to offer.
When guests arrive, they are given a bag of workshop goodies that include a personalized lanyard that serves as a name tag, along with a schedule for the days ahead, important contact information, and some fun merch items too! We get right into it on the first day, as we find guests are raring to get out there and make the most of the daylight!
It’s important to acknowledge that not all guests have the same equipment, and they all come with different skill levels when it comes to operating their gear and processing their images. Our priority is to ensure everyone gets attention and support throughout their time with 2Mad Photographers. We help them become better at understanding the basics and getting more out of whatever equipment they are armed with.
We also encourage guests to head to the dining room mid-afternoon for the champagne welcome and afternoon tea, where they can hear a bit about the resort and learn a little about the amazing history of the place.
Both Ákos and Netra are great teachers! They are patient and helpful and take the time to make sure you are getting what you want from your photos. The time spent in the field was wonderful. – Survey feedback, 2024
Our schedule was broadly as follows. We would all meet for an early morning walk around 6am with some time spent outside reception before wandering along a nearby walk. By 7:30am, we’d have worked up an appetite to tackle the breakfast buffet. With a full continental breakfast on offer, complete with local fruit preserves, trays of chilled succulent fruit, a variety of hot food options and plenty of steaming coffee we were ready to head to the classroom.
The classroom sessions cover important bird photography related topics over the three classroom days, and with subjects including, but not limited to, high-ISO shooting, flight photography, post processing, archiving, composition and aesthetics, our guests really get an enormous amount of information. Fortunately, we provide a workbook for guests to write in, take notes, sketches and so on, to record the information we teach in the room. Guests can also download a PDF of the presentation afterwards as well.
Morning sessions go from about 9am to midday when we break for lunch, which is usually an array of sandwiches, wraps and includes a hot food option, all served in the main dining room.
After lunch, we then head over to the Birds of Prey flight show where guests can practice their flight photography. The show consists of a 30min display of a variety of Birds of Prey being flown by a handler. While these are captive, habituated birds (some captive bred, some rescues or rehabilitated birds), we think this is a great opportunity to really get a handle on the correct settings and technique for birds in flight photography. And if participants want to try new angles, settings, hints and tips, they have multiple days to practice. We were able to get some really nice shots of a few raptors that were being flown, which changes each day, depending on how the birds are feeling at the time.
My (Ákos) personal favourite was the Brown Goshawk. It’s a difficult bird to photograph in the wild, but this setting made for lovely portraits.
In the afternoon, we have a mix of walks and sessions in the bird feeding area. Those who develop a mighty thirst can choose to head up to the bar for a cheeky chilled beverage (or two) before the evening meal.
We all meet in the dining room for dinner where delicious local produce is plated to perfection and served alternately in 2 courses. We try to all eat together and enjoy stories from the day, opportunities both won and missed, and you can be assured that 99% of the chatter is either bird related, or photography related – or a delightful mix of both!
On some evenings after dinner, we offer spotlighting sessions where we head for the mountain gardens to see what we can photograph!
We were extremely fortunate in 2024, as one of our guests, Sheree, spotted a small southern leaf-tailed gecko on one of the night walks, a species we’ve never ever seen before. They are relatively common up there, but can be elusive, as we have found over the years.
Ákos’ passion and knowledge of the birds in the field was not intimidating but inclusive and passion for each and every bird totally infectious in a great way. Netra quietly walking amongst us helping with camera settings etc. So you got so much more out of the in-field photography. – Survey feedback, 2023
We’ve found it best, when learning, to be able to immediately put into practice what we have just taught in the classroom. Guests find it incredibly beneficial to be able to receive a piece of technical information, and be able to step outside the room and try it right away. That way, we can, over the course of the time away, try many different approaches and techniques to help our guests capture the images they can be proud of. Guests can download images every day and bring files back into the room the next day for feedback or trouble shooting – where we suggest settings or techniques for them to try to get better and better over the time we are together.
While the lack of light in the rainforest is always a challenge, we are able to show participants how to really push the limits of their gear and shoot in settings they wouldn’t have considered previously. As each days of theory built upon the day before, we found participants moving ahead in leaps and bounds, and the groans of those missed first day photos turned into squeals of delight towards the end of our time together.
You couldn’t ask for a better couple in Akos and Netra to guide you on this amazing course. Being the beginner of these wonderful participants I learnt to finally get off auto onto manual. Their patience with me was outstanding. Couldn’t recommend them highly enough. – Michelle M, 2024 Workshop participant
On the last day, with yet another buffet breakfast under our belts, we bid a fond farewell to our guests and packed them safely onto the transfer bus for their journeys home.
A couple of the guests stayed behind once the bus picked up those travelling to Brisbane airport and we all hung out photographing. The biggest surprise came when Maria, one of our remaining guests, called out and pointed to a lizard in the leaf litter 10 or so meters from us.
It was a species we have searched for, for almost three years, yet it had eluded me. To be able to get down low on my belly (Ákos) and lay within two meters of the most beautiful dragons in Australia was just so special. The southern angle-headed dragon is a variable looking lizard and I was lucky to be able to photograph this stunning specimen for over 10 minutes, before it ran off into the scrub.
Both excellent photographers and they have great knowledge and experiences. Very down to earth and helped each participant as they needed it. Both Netra and Ákos went out of their way to help the participants and resolved any issue or situation that came up. – Survey feedback, 2024
We have photographed many more birds in the years we have been visiting this amazing place. Satin Bowerbird, Eastern Whipbird, Crimson Rosella, Eastern Spinebill, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Australian Logrunner, Eastern Yellow Robin, Australian King Parrot, Welcome Swallow, Australian Brushturkey, Noisy Pitta and even the elusive Paradise Riflebird.
There are reptiles to be found, there are amphibians and many macro critters, which we tend to focus on during our spotlighting outings at night.
While we share our personal knowledge and decades of naturalist experience with our guests, our workshops are not just photography education. We also emphasize ecology and ethics, which are both so important to becoming a better nature photographer. To be successful at photographing nature, it’s important to understand nature, not just how to operate the camera gear. That’s our approach!
You can check out our galleries from our previous visits here
2024 O’Reilly’s Images
Our October 2024 workshop at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat was nothing short of amazing! We are so grateful to our guests who trusted us enough to join us on this Mad Adventure!
From the lush rainforest setting to the thrill of capturing incredible bird moments, it was an experience to remember. We loved seeing our participants grow their skills, connect with nature, and share in the joy of photography. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned photographer, our workshops are all about learning, exploring, and having fun.
Don’t miss out—join us next time and see where your passion for photography can take you!