“Missed it all cause they could not have been captured with merely a 70-200 lens”
It was supposed to be a routine day – a couple hours on flight, a couple hours on the road to our destined location and then take in the possibility of endless hours on boats and on foot hiking through a pristine limestone forests deep in Borneo. That was the plan.
Though it was a short two night expedition through the Kinabatangan river, there were more than many unexpected surprises from this somewhat over 500km river. Gleaming with life, this is the most immaculate places (in my books) for wildlife photography. Countless species of aves, mammals, reptiles and amphibians found here almost resemble paradise, an untouched land depicted by ancient travellers, where wildlife thrive without knowing the existence of man. Some of the great wildlife here includes hornbills, various kingfishers, darters, raptors, elephants, proboscis monkeys, orang utans, and saltwater crocks. Truly a wildlife Photographers heaven.
Though it was a shame to have missed out photographing the star subjects – it was a spectacular delight to have witnessed a large crock splash into the river with great might, elephants grazing in the fading light and proboscis monkeys feeding in the canopy – all from the safety of our small boat. Missed it all cause they could not have been captured with merely a 70-200 lens (slap forehead!)
I’m not sure when i will be back there again (hopefully soon) – all in all, it was a great ‘reccee’ trip to immerse & sample the richness of biodiversity in the Malaysian rainforest with wildlife conservationists that truly care for the greater good of our natural heritage.
Sometime back in November 2012, some of my dreams came true – to use a medium format camera, take it outdoors and simply go wild with it! (And return it in one piece)… blown away by its image quality from my 8MP cameras – I set out to gain more from the Phase One 645AF fitted with Schneider 80mm LS f/2.8 & the P30+ digital back
I’ve always had (and still have) a fond admiration with water – its colossal force carves and shapes the earth from the highlands to the sea, and the forest surrounded by freshwater gleams with life. Its majesty in view at lakes and the ocean transcends and soothes the human mind – the endless open space. Water – the lifeblood of our heartland.
This fascinating facet that surrounds us gives not only life and provides us with the essential for everyday use, apart from the adrenalin rush to adventure seekers – as an adventurous photographer myself, it’s the movement, the sense of calmness and intricate details from which surrounded by water, eclipsed in one frame to bring home the emotions of this great force.
We’ve been busy – now that’s a great thing. Taking off could be easy but staying up is quiet a task and that’s exactly what we’ve been ‘up’ to. We’ve been up till 5am last night, had two hours of sleep and back to work once again.
Most of our passions in photography is more than clicking the shutter. And going through wildlife images for a photo competition brings back fond and frustrating memories of which were the best times in my life. Fond for the shots we’ve nailed, frustrating for the shots that got away – but it doesn’t dampen my spirit – I take it as motivation to get better in what I love doing.
Wildlife photography boasts some of the best images worldwide and much appreciated by many. Wildlife photographers such as me spend weeks in the forest seeking the most illusive and sometimes almost impossible shots to execute. This makes the entire experience worth the while.
I see myself as a mercenary for that great shot and after a week in the wild, out of reach to the outside world – I was inflicted with the ‘Doolittle’ syndrome. I have found myself silently talking to wildlife in the forest, in hopes that they would understand me for me to get that shot. ‘Tilt to the light’, ‘turn around’, ‘smile for the camera’ (though it’s impossible for birds to smile – they have beaks)
5am – I was talking to my pictures – and I just told myself to smile.
It’s unlikely to take a camera (which would have cost a lifetime of savings – or at least just mine) which has no weather sealing or any sort of protection whatsoever and furthermore a camera strap to the wild. Slippery by wet rugged terrains, unpredictable weather and every possible danger like twigs, branches and thorny bushes seem like flying daggers out of the forest tempted to make their mark on the camera – in this case, it’s the Phase One 645AF fitted with Schneider 80mm LS f/2.8 & the P30+ digital back.
Honestly, it was my sheer curiosity of how this camera would perform in wild that got me into a weekend spiral of hunting ferocious primates such as the stump-tailed macaque (Macaca arctoides) also known as ‘bear macaque’ and river landscapes.
It is my first time working with a medium format camera, which is usually tucked comfortably in a studio – now in the big ‘wild’ world.
When approached by The Star Daily to contribute a piece for food styling and photography for their article, we were overwhelmed by the offer. It was pretty last minute and we had to firstly, plan what to shoot and prepare some brief sketches. Then produce a grocery list, and run out to the local supermarkets and hawker stalls to purchase the food.
By the time we had completed that task and returned home, it was already 10pm. The three of us, Nik, myself and Ravin began to test our creativity, by arranging the food in varies ways, using any kinds of props we had. It was a long night, as we explored different angles and different types of food. Ironically, despite being surrounded by food, we remained hungry during our shoot!
Though not all of the pictures were published in the article, we have uploaded them here. Enjoy!
Hats off to the kind people at The Star Daily for publishing our works and we’re hoping to do more exciting shoots!
