Just a Baby

[stuny]

Due to logging and replanting vast areas of Malaysian Borneo with palm oil plantations the wild Orangutans are disappearing. Consequently, we thought we’d have little opportunity to see any in the wilds, so when we visited we made sure that we included a stop at an orang rehabilitation center that rescues orphaned oranges and readies them for reintroduction into the shrinking rainforests. Little did we know that our fabulous guide Dennicius in the Danum Valley rainforest was a wild orang magnet, finding seven in all. Rainforests are really quite dark with very dense foliage, so that was no mean trick. After he located a mother and baby (and told some primate researchers from Japan) we were lucky that the baby crossed a liana nearly directly overhead, but still at quite a distance. Orangs are the world’s largest arboreal primates, and “orang utan” translates to man of the forest. There are many more orang shots on the Borneo photo gallery on our site.

[azzo]

Excellent framing of the subject and awesome light captured.

Stuart,

Very nicely done.

[stuny]

Ivan -

Thank you.

[thompsonkirk]

Such unusual bokeh! The OOF highlights begin to look like round 'things,' as if the baby O. lives in a tree of pale grapes or plums? How did you bring that about??

Kirk

[roguewave]

Stu, I'm blown away. A most excellent image. Celestial photograph.

[flatfour]

Superb image - very mournful look though.

[rickp13]

my new favorite!



rick

[stuny]

Kirk - Thank you. This delightful little guy was quite far away. Even shooting with the 80-200 plus APO 2X extender on the DMR (1.37 multiplier factor) at maximum zoom (an effective focal length of 548) with limited light meant that I had to crop the image to show his detail well. The background and ethereal qualities came as serendipity.

Ben, Anthony & Rick - Thank you. In spite of having many images from Borneo that I like a great deal I selected this one to be the thumbnail that announces both the Australia & Oceania galleries of our site, as well as the Borneo gallery of our site. I also have it near the top of the Borneo trip notes, but for some reason I can’t get it to display there.