Orchid Photography on the Island of Rhodes

After the Storm

When and Where

I am incredibly grateful that a regular core group of photographers keeps joining me on my orchid trips around Europe. They already know exactly what they are getting into. Anyone who travels with me in search of nature has already realised that being outdoors is what matters most to me.

I’ll head out for that first half-hour before sunrise even in heavy rain, because what if the clouds suddenly break for a few minutes and the orange sun shines onto the wet flowers? It is hardly unusual for me to suggest to clients – and occasionally persuade them a little – that there is no time for lunch because we would have to turn back, while there are still two more locations further on with this species and that species, and we simply have to explore them, even if only briefly.

If you want to join me next time, be prepared to get up at 5:40 a.m. so that we can leave around 6:10. It usually starts getting light at about 6:50, but it is best to be at the first flowers by 6:20 at the latest. That gives you time to look around and decide which of the most beautiful flowers will catch the first rays of sunlight, or to photograph a flower with the sun in the background.

By around 9 a.m., the light will already be a little too harsh and white (awful!), so it’s time for breakfast. We either bring something with us or drive to a village for coffee. During the day, we focus more on exploring new locations and finding the best spot for evening photography and sunset. We can usually find an open restaurant where we can enjoy a relaxed lunch – the only proper hot meal of the day.

Occasionally – and this year there was actually a demand from the clients for more of these “lazy days” – we head back to our accommodation after the morning photography session for a “hearty breakfast-lunch” followed by a siesta, perhaps by the pool. We then go back into the field in the afternoon, with just a short stop for dinner, making sure we are back among the orchids in time for the final hour of daylight and sunset.

Hairy Danger

Apart from the fact that there were no vast carpets of orchids this year, the places where we did find larger concentrations – and suspected we might want to return to them – would have been worth keeping an eye on.

I knew that stray animals could pose a danger to flowers at Mediterranean locations. In Crete, we had to deal with goats, in Sicily with sheep, and on Gargano with cattle. On Rhodes, we gained a new enemy: the fallow deer (Dama dama)!

You may think I’m joking, but I was genuinely shocked on the very day we arrived when I spotted a fallow deer somewhere near Laerma for the first time. And that was only one.

When we were in the south, we saw entire herds wandering through the orchids or along the edges of villages in the morning and evening.

I remember how, one evening at a beautiful location near Kattavia, we picked out a nice group of Umbilicate Ophrys (Ophrys umbilicata) growing in a clear patch of ground with no other vegetation. It was perfectly positioned for the first rays of morning sunlight, so we planned to return under ideal conditions.

Fat chance. The next morning, the fallow deer were already in sight, and there were droppings around the remaining third of the stems. The flowers had been eaten.

Bastards!

Where did this sneaky animal come from? I did a little digging into the history of fallow deer on Rhodes.

I quote: “...in the Middle Ages, fallow deer were brought to Rhodes on the advice of the Oracle of Delphi to help the locals get rid of snakes.” Seriously!

Apparently, the deer were supposed to “repel snakes with the smell of their urine”. More fallow deer were later introduced by the Knights Hospitaller as game animals, but fortunately, the species was completely eradicated from the island during the Ottoman wars.

Unfortunately, when the island became Italian after 1912, the Italians introduced fallow deer again. Semi-tame animals lived in the moat around the Old Town, while some escaped and others were released. According to information from 2022, one fallow deer could supposedly be seen in the forests near Laerma, while dozens more supposedly lived in a fenced reserve bordering the canyon in Rodini Park.

No way. Hundreds of fallow deer roam freely across the south of the island, according to our observations, often in groups of up to 12 animals – and they are eating the orchids!

Where Next?

As with several of my previous orchid trips, I find myself thinking that I could have stayed on the island longer and taken things a little more slowly. Even though we managed to see a lot, there were places where we could have explored further, stayed longer, or returned under better light. If you are interested in joining me for another orchid trip to Rhodes, let me know. I would like to return next year and I’ll work something out.

For my regular group of photographer-travellers, however, I am already planning something completely new. How about exploring orchids in Georgia, Albania or southern Portugal? I already have a pile of notes and a stack of books on my desk as I try to decide which corner of Europe will offer the most interesting and accessible orchid photography.

The complete list of orchid species photographed during the 1–8 April 2026 trip can be found at the very end of the article. Once again, please bear with my approach to orchid nomenclature, which is hardly an exact science. I am rather conservative and do not treat subspecies as separate species. For clarity, however, I have added the alternative names where applicable.

Many thanks to my fellow travellers for the wonderful time among the orchids. I really enjoyed having you along, and I hope to see you somewhere again next time!