Batang Ai
Situated at the edge of some of Malaysia’s most magnificent rainforest, Batang Ai Longhouse is surrounded by its own expanse of jungle....
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Situated at the edge of some of Malaysia’s most magnificent rainforest, Batang Ai Longhouse is surrounded by its own expanse of jungle.
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Sep, 2013Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Batang Ai National Park in Borneo - a hydro-electric scheme completed in 1980 dammed the Batang Ai river and created a 24 sq km lake fed by four crystal clear tributaries of the Ai River. The result is a man-made island around which you can see the tops of the trees that once stood in the valley surrounding it.Time
Sunset - we wandered around the island exploring and came across this beautiful spot. Realising the sun was setting we decided to stay to capture the amazing natural light. Eventually I realised that I was on the menu of everything the jungle had flying, crawling and biting and I had to abandon my position and retreat to the safety of my room and a big bottle of bug spray!Lighting
The lighting was just perfect - that golden hour between the heat of the day and the sudden darkness that falls in that part of the world was all that was needed.Equipment
This was a hand held shot using an Olympus Digital Camera - it has since been replaced by a Nikon DSLR and then a new Mirorless Compact from Olympus again.Inspiration
This was taken back when I had just discovered photography with my very first digital camera bought in duty free on the 23 hour journey to Borneo. So it was just inspired by the sheer beauty of the scene. At the time I was still learning to use it and translate what I had learnt on my film camera course at Central St Martins into the new world of digital. .Editing
No post processing neededIn my camera bag
I have an Olympus OMD E10. It was a big step to go from DSLR to mirorless compact (and it still annoys me that people don't take these cameras seriously when they are serious little bits of kit!) But going with the old axiom that the best camera is the one that you have with you I knew that I wasn't going to take the DSLR in the same way that I can now take the EM10. - Olympus 14-42mm zoom lens - my standard workhorse - Olympus M Zuiko 60mm Macro lens - I love this lens, and use it a lot more than I thought I would. As well as macro pictures it is great for portraits too - Filters - Polariser and UVFeedback
There was no great set up with this shot so the only tip I would give is think about how the light works in the place you are. There is a chance you can just be in the right place at the right time but consider scouting out possible shots before you take them and be prepared to come back when the light is at its best to show off what is there. Check what time the sun rises and sets and take an alarm clock so you can make sure you don't miss it. You could get the shot of your dreams before breakfast if you prepare properly. Once you have positioned yourself as planned make sure that you vary the aperture and exposure to get a variety of shots. What shows on the camera isn't 100% accurate to what you get so better to have a range of shots. And don't forget to shoot in RAW so if you need to adjust in post processing you can do.
