* valid for photography sessions for the months of May 2019 & June 2019 only
* all costs exclude outstation logistics costs (outside the Klang Valley)
* additional hours subject to additional charges
* value indicates sum after discount
* valid for photography sessions for the months of May 2019 & June 2019 only
* all costs exclude outstation logistics costs (outside the Klang Valley)
* additional hours subject to additional charges
* value indicates sum after discount
by Sanjitpaal Singh / Fullcirclepix.com
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Kuala Lumpur Twin Towers during Sunset
A site recce before the actual shoot could be a drag at times, taking up time, effort and money – but it is an exercise to ultimately save you more time, effort, money and a whole lot of heartache for both client and photographer during the actual shoot. Photographers often may not be willing to conduct site recce for various reasons:
Kuala Lumpur Skyline in Dawn
a) Distance:
For my last recce, I was headed off to the southern tip of the peninsula Malaysia via flight. Although it’s an hour flight, there are many things to be considered and learnt prior to the actual shoot that is distance to the airport, airport to shooting site. With ‘distance’ considered, more time, effort and budgets might increase.
b) Time:
As a photographer, time is of the essence to get the right shot. It’s not as easy as a push of a button and there is a tremendous number of variables to be considered before the shoot. For a recce session, the time to location may be a factor in this equation. I live in the heart of the city and travelling to another city way down south for an architectural assignment will take a day at the very least, and a day more to return. to top it off, it takes time to scout various possible shooting locations.
Pre-production while getting to location.
c) Effort
A photographer may have just returned from a long haul assignment (just as I have and often still feel knackered from it) and in the midst of finalising all the files for submission. From unpacking one suitcase to checking gear and packing another suitcase all the way to getting to the hotel and repacking for the shoot takes effort and mental power. Travelling can take a toll on a photographer i.e: taking a weekday vs weekend flight may vary in the timing you leave the house or your studio and we are expected to be bright and fit for the shoot upon arriving on location .
d) Money
This is the most valuable factor in this entire equation. every single step of the way involves a certain amount of payout. in this case, i’m travelling to the south for an overnight trip and below is a list of items i’m paying out for.
0. initial meeting + logistics
1. flight tickets (x2)
2. airport transfers (x4)
3. access luggage (x2), i will explain more on this in a bit
4. meals (x8)
5. client entertainment meals (4people x2)
6. lodging
Bring out the charms while photographing bedrooms with combining soft and hard elements in the space
But a seasoned photographer like me knows that this recce trip is essential and it should be included in the financial budgets of the clients. In fact, the recce could even save costs, effort and time during the actual shoot.
During the recce:
Take every recce shoot as serious as the actual. As for the client, they need to be present and involved. Photographers, pack all the essential gear as though as on actual shoot. Although at times excess airport luggage has to be paid. By conducting an actual shoot, not only a couple of shots might have been locked in the bank and you have made your time worthy, you might impress the client while on site. Through the camera, you will have determined the additional challenges that might occur during the principle shoot. Sometimes, even the client gets to see what they will be getting in the actual shoot. For example, during an interior shoot for a loft, the client was not too happy with the carpets and curtains – this gave us time to get them changed for the principle shoot. Sometimes, simple things such as unwanted creases in fabrics can be identified and attended to before the actual shoot.
Hero Shots are the main shots that clients look for in any set of photoshoots. This will act as their main image for all their marketing materials.
This is to establish a game plan.
Upon arrival to the shooting site, the meeting between the photographer and client is vital. The client or a representative would have been appointed to assist the photographer in security issues, familiarising with the location and the list of locations to shoot. To complete this task, there will be a lot of walking and climbing about with the photographer and his/her camera. I usually request from the client to appoint a security staff to assist me with the gear all the way through as i have found myself squeezing through the fences of a 30 storey rooftop. The extra hands help, and it doesn’t hurt to have some extra security!
Meet the Crew
Meeting with the project staff on site, from managers to security personnels. Making the photographer visible and known to all personnel on ground helps to ease the shooting process. Most other buildings the photographer may utilise might have restricted areas and these are the areas that they might want to shoot from. It helps to introduce the photographer and inform all involved before the shoot. In commercial property projects, this is a vital step and helps keep your photographer out of prison.
Dresser rooms with mirrors may be challenging to photograph.
Get your bearings
For the photographer, scout possible shooting angles and positions of light in various time of days. This is also important to the client because they need to seek permission from other building managements and seek their consent and approval for utilising their space, so the photographer can put up his/her tripod to photograph an apposing structure.
Shoot as much as possible
For the photographer, shoot in both axis for each shot and surrounding areas. As a visual person, this will help me with my bearings for the principle shoot and notting down the time of day for the sun direction. I could use a compass but i prefer a visual reference.
The placement of lighting will determine the diference between reviewed images from the client to select from.
Recap
It’s important for photographer and client to meet and recap on the days work. View pictures together. As a photographer, it is important to have an open communication, listen and be sensitive to the clients demands. It creates a healthy relationship with the client. Photographers, don’t be too pushy with your ideas as the client will still accept your ideas after their needs and expectations have been met. That way, the
client will be getting the best of both worlds. During this meeting (occasionally after dinner and over a glass of wine), be clear of the objectives in meeting the deadlines, the working timeline and other concerns that may occur.
Book keeping
upon completion of the recce trip, a photographer should keep a timeframe and costing log. the timeframe log will be the guide for all logistics and to strike items off the shooting list. you will know where to go and what to shoot at what time. the costing log will be your expenditure and you will not be short of cash while scooting from one site to another. but of course, always have a contingency costing. i.e. metered taxis might rack up a bill while stuck in traffic to and fro site and having to pay for hotel wifi to send the files to the client.
It would be great to prepare this beforehand to determine your costing for the official quote.
Kuala Lumpur Skyline during Dusk
what could go wrong?
Weather
needless to say, living in a tropical country has many challenges for the photographer – this is mainly due to the weather. the rainy seasons differ in different parts of the country. this has to be taken into serious consideration as it’s time consuming. There is often only good soft light early in the mornings and towards sunset & the rest of the day would be hard light that will blow out the details from the facade you’re shooting. For this, I usually allow 2 additional working days for weather contingency on my quote. If any uncertainties occur during the shoot, note them in your daily email to the client in the case of extensions are needed.
site not at 100% ready:
I have been on sites where the project has been completed but some minor works needed to be done. upon arrival, the minor works mentioned had to take place on the 10th floor of a 20-storey building and there were scaffolding and holding from the ground up. It was a nightmare and these ‘minor’ works took a week to complete. Clients need to be aware of these issues and help the photographer resolve them, hopefully right after the recce trip.
use leading lines to create depth while accentuating the main subjects in the designed space while working in tight areas.
escalating cost:
rates changes especially when taking budget airlines, taxi fares and lodging costs during peak periods – these are unavoidable costs
You’re now prepped
it might have taken a lot from you and your clients but now both are prepared to take on the task ahead. the importance of a site recce is to familiarise yourself to the location, completed all ground meetings, expenditure estimates secured, nailed the timings to create postcard worthy works for the client to be delivered within deadline.
Chill space
note:
During the shoot.
Communication is most important. Clients might be busy with other engagements while a photographer is on site. At the end of the day after every shoot, its best for
the photographer to email the client and his/her secretary low res edited previews for their approval. Apart from this working as a daily report of the works accomplish, this also allows them to comment on minute details for improvements. I don’t mind these as delivering to the clients expectations is what i was hired for.
Study ares within an apartment
A personal opinion… India indeed is a country that i disliked while while i was there, yet miss it while i’m back in the comfort of home. Though i’m only about to scrape the surface of this truly incredible nation, while working through pictures i’ve taken from only one city… it has more beguiling moments.
…just some shots i’m currently working on.
Shots with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 (paired with either) 12mm, 25mm, 75mm.
The setting was perfect for TV host, radio presenter, actor, singer, martial arts enthusiast, explorer, daredevil, NIKE flow-rider, emcee, diver – this makes Azura Zainal, Malaysia’s (extremely busy) celebrity hard to catch. But we’ve managed to catch up with her, wake her up at 6am on a December morning to stomp the streets of Kuala Lumpur strutting her personality on a fun photoshoot.
Though we all secretly harboured feelings of annoyance towards Sanjit (That’s me) for getting us up early… it all faded away when the golden rays of light illuminated the streets of Kuala Lumpur. To bathe in the light of the golden hour was indeed worth the efforts of rising early on a Saturday morning. We hardly stayed put in one area… we stormed the streets of Kuala Lumpur in search of unique locations (Well, we also had to keep moving to dodge the city security).
Furthermore, we woke up her husband, Cris to assist us with the shoot. Cameras in the bag – we’re off!
How did this all come about? I’ll spare the historical details – lets just say we’re ol’ family friends reacquainted. I’ve always looked up at Azura – her persona and live wire personality makes her one (heckofa’) firecracker of a lovely lass – the kind that is always fun to work with.
We also managed to get down and personal (it’s not everyday we get to pick the brains of a celeb) and asked Azura some personal questions and some on her philosophy.
1. Is freedom more important than money
“To me it’s equally important because when you have money, your life is better and it gives you the freedom to do the things that you love. But it doesn’t mean you have to have a lot of money, just enough for you to have the freedom you want.”
2. You as a personal brand – how did ‘your successes’ come about
“This is really tough for me to answer because i always ask myself whether i am successful already?? What makes a person successful? Are you successful when you have a lot of money? or when you have hundreds of thousands of followers on your social media?? How do you define success? I just recently had this conversation with my sister and she always tells me that I am too critical and i judge myself too much and too hard! And she is right! So for the longest time i always thought i have not reached any successes. But after publishing a book, a guidebook to help aspiring presenters who want to follow in my foot-steps, it hit me! That’s one of the successes i have.:) This book is definitely a huge way to give back to the society and am really blessed to be able to share my knowledge! So coming back to the question, my successes certainly came from the continuous support i had and still have from the fans, the people who believe and support the things that i do because without them i would never be where I am today! It’s team-work right there!”
3. Setbacks of being a celebrity
“Here’s the thing, i have never considered myself as a celebrity. Im just a person just like you, doing something that i love but the difference is, people get to see and hear what i do…so to be honest, i have never experienced any kind of setbacks…call me lame but it’s the truth!”
4. your point of view towards todays generation to live a healthy (for a happy) life
“I see a lot of people now are very concern about their health and it’s great that some of them are actually taking action. Whether people do it for health, beauty or to show off, it doesn’t matter, as long as you are doing something about it. I believe that it’s important for you to live a healthy life now, because for me , I workout to actually prepare myself for the future when i get older. I want to still be able to jump the way i do now and when I’m older. :)”
5. As the face and voice to everyone that you represent living in the age where ‘community is king’ – how do you handle public attention.
“Hehehe I still get very shy whenever people stop me to take photos and say hello. I never have problems with handling public attention, because whenever people stop or say hello, they always seem like they’ve known me like forever so automatically it makes me think that maybe i do know them….too…from somewhere….so yeah…i hope i make sense. So public attention is not an issue for me, i handle them like they are my friends. :)”
6. Framing your goals (what have you achieved and what have you recently set out to achieve)
“Everybody has goals, every year i set out some goals but i never achieve it! Like since 3 years ago i keep telling myself that i must produce at least 1 show a year, and that never happen. But i do have the proposal and i did go to see some people to kinda get the ball rolling, but it never pulled through because I’m always taken away for my travel show. But whats funny is that the goals that are not on my list actually happened. Like being a radio announcer and having a book with my name on it! How bizarre is that..to me that really showed me GOD knows best! So yea, the highlight for me this year is actually holding and having my guidebook out for everyone to learn a little bit from me about tv and radio presenting. It’s my way of giving back to the fans.
For this year, my goal is to start being a trainer in my field, am lucky because my sister Zarina is a Professional Trainer and she will guide me in this new career path. I planning to have workshops on TV Presenting and Radio Announcing for people who want to learn more about what i do. Its great because with the book out, it will be easier for people to relate. So crossing my fingers that happens soon.”
7. (Azura’s personal message)
“Thank you so much for all your continuos support. I really really appreciate it. As cliche as i may sound, but this is the honest truth, Without you i wouldn’t be where i am today and i want you to know that you make me better at what i do! So THANK YOU SO MUCH! I love you! And don’t forget to always believe in all that you do, dream big and don’t forget to get my book! hahahahaha MUCH LOVE!”
Though it may seem like awhile since we’ve been photographing human beings – the truth is, we’ve been more at it than anything else that we shoot. All in all, it was a great day, a good fun shoot, shared many laughs – everyone went home tired and filled the air with ‘zzz’s’ – Cris & I have become camara!
It was a pleasure to photograph Azura, and we look forward to more fun shoots such as this. Thanks Chris, for helping us with the reflectors too!
Cheers Azura, Cris & Ravin – you gals (& guy) Rock!
Do check out her new book: Azura Zainal’s Guide to Radio and TV Hosting here
Credits:
Azura Zainal
fb: https://www.facebook.com/azura.zainal.967?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
fb: https://www.facebook.com/azurazainalofficial
instagram: http://instagram.com/zurrs
Cristiano Genuino
web: http://www.capoeiracamaramalaysia.com
fb: https://www.facebook.com/cristiano.genuino?fref=ts
fb: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Capoeira-Camara-Malaysia/285367176836?ref=br_rs
Camera Woman: Ravinder Kaur
Photos & Post: Sanjitpaal Singh
Camera: Nikon D7100, 17-55, 70-200, SU-8, SB910 (2pcs), lighting stands, reflector
Oh yea… here’s the BTS Video…
… and more images from the shoot here
Considering that I do shoot in the studio at times (or bring the studio to you) most of these studio sessions are almost never seen online. Mainly because most of my shots are exclusive to the client.
Long story short – I was casting a couple of my friends just yesterday and since we’re good buddies, I sent one of the better images via whatsapp just for the heck of it. These images do go around onto their FB / Instagram / EyeEm / G+ and other social media spreading like wildfires faster than lightning.
Its also amazing what smart phones + time + and some imagination can achieve. To my surprise i received these ‘meshes’ done by a friend (with his mobile phone) of the person photographed. I had a good laugh!
Send me your version… all in good fun!
When you do what you love doing, the numbers on the mileage, hours on planes, hours slept, coffee consumed, miles walked… all don’t seem to matter much.
When you’re done doing what you love doing, you can’t help but to wonder… What’s next!
Here’s a BTS video of how we did what we did.
Special thanks to:
Filmgal: Ravinder Kaur – armed with the Olympus E-PL5 + 14-42
Nature Guide: Terence Ang – http://naturecore.blogspot.com/
CHEERS!: Olympus Malaysia – https://www.facebook.com/olympusmalaysia
Colour management: (My screen is calibrated for my photographic works using) Datacolor Spyder
& Gitzo
More on me:
www.facebook.com/sanjitpaal.singh
www.facebook.com/Fullcirclepixcom?ref=hl
– This review is based on personal experiences
– I’m not a ‘tech’ guy
– This review is based on inspiration
– The E-M1 Has got a ‘CP’ sticker on the bottom
– This is personal
“Throw yourself a challenge with subjects that cannot communicate. Your best bet would be having a camera in hand that will capture the moments”
PERSONAL NOTE
My Passion for nature and wildlife photography derived and instilled by my wife who is a Conservation Biologist. I find peace in the forest and it gives me much inspiration in my daily job in the advertising world. Documenting wildlife in the Malaysian jungles is a labour of love – and with this passion, I would like to present the beauty of Malaysia to the world to admire. This time with boots on the ground…running!
I’ve always been a guy driven by passion and i believe that if you’re passionate about it, it will build you. Thank you Olympus Malaysia for believing in me – your support to my wildlife endeavours is truly immaculate.
THE ‘PERSONAL’ CHALLENGE
I’ve been photographing with the 300mm f2.8 for a while now. Since the days of the E-3 & then much more with the E-5. Most of the images produced from my wildlife escapades were either from one of the two DSLR’s. Of course, my setup will include either of the two camera body, the 300mm f/2.8 and the EC-20 2x Teleconverter (EC 2x TC). This setup has proven effective many times.
Personal because I’ve not been shooting much wildlife, stricken with advertising works. I was also delayed the chance of obtaining this gear before the end of 2013 when all my wildlife adventures completed with minimal resources (http://fullcirclepix.com/blog/?p=1149). The upside to this (in which i smile upon now – since it was my birthday – don’t ask) is with the beginning of a new year, translates to the beginning of new challenges. And for this year, I’m going to seek wildlife i’ve either never seen or never photographed well.
To throw another curve ball into this equation… This is my first time using the E-M1 with the 300mm f/2.8! Only possible with the MMF-3. Since birds are abundant and also present in common areas, they posed as the best subjects. Hence, I’ve travelled to highlands & lowlands… in Borneo & central Malaysia. I set out on a journey personal to me & with new gear.
I’m a city boy that love the outdoors : )
With many ‘aaarrrrggghhh!!!’ setbacks in the past with 4/3 setups while deep in the jungles. I could only wonder if the Micro 4/3 + MMF-3 + 300mm f/2.8 could perform to my standards of wildlife photography. At first thought, If i have less of the ‘aaarrrrggghhh!!!’ moments, i’m a winner and the gear on my back is my trophy.
My personal challenge is to set out and photograph some of the most colourful birds in Malaysia. Yet keeping the images simple to a sense that they could be used for advertising and editorial purposes.
You may have guessed it – this review is based on personal experiences, and the pain we go through when given the opportunity to visually document the best of nature and wildlife here is not easy.
Many bird photographers photograph birds as a collection – i do it to present wildlife behaviour.
Mental note: we preserve
WHY WILDLIFE + THIS SETUP
It’s simple. Malaysia is situated on the equator with tropical climate all year round. Malaysia is one of 17 countries in the world with mega-biodiversity. The forests here is dense with vegetation, making it rough to venture trough, the weather is unpredictable (when away from technology / the ‘experienced’ indigenous and guide) and wildlife is not only tough to spot, even harder to photograph – they are fast, shy, and unpredictable.
Much research is needed to get the best of wildlife, with perseverance, patients, a good team (all with the same traits) the images here was possible.
The 300mm f2.8 when mounted onto the E-System or the Micro Four Thirds System automatically converts to 600mm f/2.8. When the 2x TC is added on, the entire system translates to 1200mm f/5.7. Perfect for a ‘light’ wildlife photography setup.
MY JOURNEY
My Journey took me to a couple of states – with my own money, time away from personal deadlines, short adventures that would give my insurance agent a brain aneurism (please don’t tell him).The first couple of days within Kuala Lumpur were used in nearby places to get familiar with the camera setup. I’ve earned my Gitzo 5 series tripod + Wimberley 2 head earlier in 2013 and this is the best time to utilise it to the fullest.
To have embarked on this journey is simply and only that i have a passion – driven with much hope that the E-M1 + 300mm f/2.8 + EC 2x + MMF-3 (my setup) would give me better pictures than i had with 4/3 Systems before.
THE SETUP
– Gitzo 5 series
– Wimberley Head II + Plate
– Olympus EM-1 + HLD-7 vertical grip
– 300mm f/2.8
– MMF-3
– EC-20
– Macbook Pro
– Sandisk 32G
– Time
– some money
– Some Stamina,
– A hell lot of patients
– Experienced guide
– More miles on your car then ever in a week
– Wife that loves you regardless
300mm f/2.8 + EC 2x
Here’s a bunch of gear i’ve used numerous times before with much satisfaction, i’ve had numerous ‘down’ moments. Faced in low light situations, for instance in the early mornings and late in the evenings when there were numerous flocks of Plain-Pouched Hornbills on migration path between the borders of Thailand & Malaysia (only witnessed deep in the jungles). Or flock of Cattle Egrets swooping into communal roosting areas. This phenomenons in its fullest majesty are least documented.
300mm f/2.8 + EC 2x will give you the (monster) range 1200mm f/5.7 – Awesome!!! The focusing speed did not suffice for fast moving wildlife, furthermore, there wildlife here rather stay in dark & shady areas. Since we’re on the equator and the sun is super hot / hard on midday (slap forehead) (even humans rather take shade).
On a separate note, in other occasions, tigers have leaped out of our way, elephants rolling downhill like thunder (forget your gear – get out!…alive)
So I’ve missed some shots in the past and i venture into 2014 hoping the best in my images.
E-M1
I’m a DSLR guy… I’ve utilise the E-PL5 & The PEN & did a whole bunch of EM-5 reviews in 2013 (http://www.youtube.com/user/jitspics/videos) . To my opinion, no other M4/3 camera feels more like a DSLR like the EM-1. Compared to the E-5 this setup on my tripod setup is was much lighter. With the ZD300mm f2. 8 lens leans forward and difficult to balance unless you’re willing to take a risk (pulling your entire system closer to the back for ultimate best balance – risking your camera & lens to fall off while readjusting or transporting from location to location) fortunately, the Wimberley Head 2 has a safety feature to curb this disaster. Kudos to the Singapore suppliers (thats another story)
I’m a DSLR guy… Perhaps i may turn into an occasional DSLR guy.
PERFORMANCE
These are my main concerns while shooting. At most times, i would shoot in manual mode, at times with manual focusing. Since i’m gunning for clean shots that could be used for advertising purposes, my main concentration is as listed below.
WB: Auto
ISO: Varies from Low – 1600
Sharpness: +1
Metering: Spot
Aperture Priority (when applicable): f2.8 or f5.7
Burst Mode: High
File Setting: RAW + LSF
IS: off
ISO
Working on a low ISO is like a mantra to me. The simple reason is to reduce any grain. I always want to get sharp images with a sense of emotions combine with elements of natural lighting and animal behaviour. This is devious. Since most wildlife here are active during the mornings and evenings. Getting tact sharp images is a challenge. Animals tend to hang about in the shade & thick foliage most of the time mainly to be able to dart away from predators.
TACT SHARP &/Vs. GRAIN
“is a compromise as at most times, it’s the moment i want to capture.”
At ISO800 and above, i’d find the grain not to be a little uncomfortable for my liking compared to the DSLR Systems. Grain is more apparent due to the massive depth in shadowy backgrounds. Compared to the E-Systems – there are significant improvements which is to my admiration.
FOCUSING SPEED
I’ve had many ‘aaarrrrggghhh!!!’ moments in the past with the DSLR + 300mm f2.8 + EC 2x TC. With renewed hope i ventured with this system and found myself in a similar situation My setup performs well in well lit conditions. At times, i find the focus hunting which cost me a few ‘misfired’ frames. I’ve also come to realise that might be a lag in the shutter. Wildlife and small birds are very fast and precision is key – i’ve missed a few shots. Furthermore, i find the auto focus with ZD lenses seem even more tricky in low light.
Note: check firmware updates.
“it dims my spirits – but i’m all about ‘stomping’ the shot!”
THE ‘KILLA’ ATTRACTION
After much to do with shooting and one presentation already completed. There was wave of attraction to this setup which puzzled me in different ways all throughout every shoot. This puzzling attraction become more apparent when i was ‘chimping’ from a set of images that almost set me slipped off a cliff! – it’s the astounding details that has captured my attention!!!
IN SUMMARY – PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS
– 16MP Four Thirds
– Twin control Dials
– ‘5-axis’ IS
– Up to 10fps continuous shooting
– 3” touchscreen LCD + tilts
– Dust, Splash and freeze-proof
– 81 Focus Points
– Light Weight
– Rugged Looking & DSLR feel
– Lightest wildlife camera setup (since i’m not a buff guy) (Handheld shots is possible)
– Super fast AF (Hopefully improves in future when used with ZD Lenses)
– Large Arsenal of Lenses
– Worry free shooting – Display in live view
– Excellent image quality! Details Galore!!!
FINAL THOUGHT
I’m over the moon / impressed and itching to get out there for more shots – with this monster! (gotta head back to my advertising job though – yeah I’m in tough spot)
CREDITS:
Videos by: Ravinder Kaur & EPL5 (coming soon)
Tour guide: http://naturecore.blogspot.com/
CHEERS!: Olympus Malaysia – https://www.facebook.com/olympusmalaysia
More on me:
www.facebook.com/sanjitpaal.singh
www.facebook.com/Fullcirclepixcom?ref=hl
Dedicated to Timothy McVey – your admiration to my works inspires me to push limits further & beyond as you once said “you’ll never know the end, till you cross the line”. Cheers brotha!’
“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.
Photographed with PhaseOne – http://www.edgedigital.com.my