‘RING OF FIRE’ - INDONESIA PHOTO WORKSHOP

Day 1 Meeting in Jakarta

We will assemble for dinner at an airport hotel in Jakarta, where we will have a meet-and-greet and an early dinner, where we will discuss the days ahead.  

Days 2-4 Journey to Borneo, Tanjung Puting National Park

Early in the morning we will take a flight to Iskandar Airport, a small airport in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo Island), and from there take a boat straight to our first destination: Tanjung Puting National Park. We will setlle in a beautiful eco-lodge and go on our first afternoon shoot.
The next 3 days will be devoted to shooting wildlife. We will devote most of our attention to one of the most beautiful and interesting primates on Earth: the Bornean orangutan. After breakfasts at the lodge, we will take a boat ride to orangutan spotting sites and spend the day shooting these magnificaet creatures. Orangutans are natural born comedians, and they seem to also be natural models.

 

 

Tanjung Puting is also home to other beautiful and interesting species, such as the proboscis monkey. The males of the species boast a huge proboscis, and the females love it!
Other species in Tanjung Puting include silvery langur and the white-bearded gibbon.

Days 5-6 Java Island, Bromo Volcano

After breakfast on day 5, we will leave Kalimantan and fly to Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia, and take a drive to our hotel next to Bromo Volcano. We will eat and go to sleep, since the day after we have to rise early to catch sunrise in Bromo. Our hotel is located in a perfect spot for droning the volcano. The "regular" vantage points pose problems for droning since there is too much intereference from other operators, but from our location there will be almost none of that. 

Mount Bromo is an active volcano, part of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. At 2,329 meters (7,641 feet) it is not the highest peak of the massif, but it is by far the most famous. Our vantage point will include, other than Bromo, Mount Batok (closest to the viewer) and Mount Semeru (also an active volcano, at the back of the image). The complex is incredibly beautiful and it's often foggy, which elevates the photographic appeal. Bromo can be shot from the viewpoint of Mount Penanjakan, but can also be shot by drone. Drone aerials are especially good when the volcano is smoking and when it sticks out of thick morning fog. 

 

After finishing our sunrise shoot, we will hop on specialized 4X4s vehicles and head out to explore the volcanic crater. After returning, we'll check out, drive back to Surabaya and sleep in a hotel there.

Days 7-9 Komodo National Park

We will depart early in the morning to fly to our next destination: Komodo Airport. From there, we will board a boat which will take us on a 3-day sail to Komodo National Park and its surrounding islands.

Our vessel of choice is a Phinisi Buginese Schooner with a maximum capacity of 16 guests (while we are only 9 max). The boat offers all the comforts we need for this sail: all rooms are equipped with A/C, private bathrooms and everything else to guarantee a wonderful experience. For extra comfort, every participant will receive a private room on the boat.

Our main interest in Komodo will, naturally, be the Komodo Dragon - the largest lizard on Earth, growing to a maximum length of 3 metres (10 ft), and weighing up to approximately 70 kilograms (150 lb). As a result of their size, Komodo dragons are apex predators, and dominate the ecosystems in which they live. Komodo dragons hunt and ambush prey including invertebrates, birds, and mammals. They are most active in the day, although the species exhibits some nocturnal activity. Komodo dragons are solitary, coming together only to breed and eat. They are capable of running rapidly in brief sprints up to 20 km/h (12 mph), diving up to 4.5 m (15 ft), and climbing trees proficiently when young through use of their strong claws.

 

Other than dragons, we'll spend some time and effort shooting the iconic landscapes of the archipelago and its beautiful seascapes. Drones will be invaluable for this task, so be sure to bring yours!

 

 

Days 9-11 Flores Island

After finishing our sail on the morning of day 9, we'll be picked up at the port and driven back to Komodo Airport (which despite its name is on Flores Island), where we'll hop on a plane and fly to the other side of Flores. Upon landing in Ende airport, we will drive to the small town of Moni, at the foot of our next photo subject: Kelimutu Volcano.

Kelimutu boasts no less than 3 crater lakes, and the amazing thing is that they display potentially different colors. The colors change over the year depepnding on the mineral ejections of the volcano, and always present wonderful photographic opportunities, from the ground and especially from the air.

 

We will spend 2 sunrises shooting Kelimutu (sunset is less shootable to shoot due to the park's opening hours), making sure we get the best conditions we can. The rest of the day will be spent doing image critique and visiting traditional villages in the area. On day 11 we will drive back to Ende Airport and take a flight to Bali, where we will have dinner and spend the night at a nice local hotel. Kelimutu shots kindly provided by TheWorldTravelGuy.

Day 12-15 Journey to Northern Sulawesi, Tangkoko National Park

After breakfast, we'll take a flight to the Island of Sulawesi. Sulawesi is highly volcanic like the rest of Indonesia, but it's also wilder, with less agriculture and more hunting, fewer fields and more jungle. After landing in Manado, the main city of northern Sulawesi, we'll take a short drive to Bitung, a smaller town at the foot of Mount Dua Saudara, where we will settle in a beautiful nature lodge. We will have lunch and discuss the upcoming days in Tangkoko National Park. If time allows, we will be shooting that same day.

We will spend 2.5 days exploring and shooting the incredible and diverse wildlife of Tangkoko. The mornings will be dedicated to the Celebes crested macaque.

Locally known as yaki or wolai, its skin and hairless face is, with the exception of some white hair in the shoulder range, entirely jet black. Unusual for a primate, it has striking reddish-brown eyes. A diurnal rain forest dweller, this macaque is primarily terrestrial, spending more than 60% of its day on the ground foraging for food and socializing, while sleeping and searching for food in the trees. It lives typically in groups of five to twenty-five animals. All these qualities make it a perfect photo subject, and we will invest most of our effort into shooting this beautiful and social animal.

 

The afternoons will again be dedicated to crested macaque photography, but come evening, the cutest creature emerges and starts foraging for insects to eat: the tiny tarsier. This beautiful little primate is found primarily in forested habitats, especially forests that have liana, since the vine gives tarsiers vertical support when climbing trees. Our expert guides will track them in time for us to shoot them under soft light.

Day 15 Back to Manado, Departure

After breakfast, we will drive back to Manado Airport for goodbyes and your flight home. The workshop concludes here and you are free to select whether to fly to Bali or to Jakarta.