Asian Nature Photography

Just would like to throw the question: how many know about nature

photography in Asia? I ask this because quite a lot of the

nature photo workshops seems to be held in the US. Surely there is an

abundance of nature subjects that is unique to Asia?

 

BTW: I would like to recommend a website started by a budding nature

photo club in

Singapore: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/asiannaturephotography

 

The number of nature photographers in Asia tends to be much less than

Europe or US although it has the most number of flora/fauna/insect

species. This could be due to the stage of economic development in

these countries. Perhaps it will take us 10-20 years to catch up in

this aspect.

Part of the problem is the availability of nature subjects as well. Obviously subjects such as Pendas in China, snow monkeys in Japan, tigers in India ... are well known, but overall, Asia is a very crowded place and the mark of human civilization is all over the place. In Asia, it is much harder to find the type of great landscape in the western US (e.g. Yellowstone, Utah, Arizona ...), birds in Florida, or the great wildlife opportunities such as those in East Africa. Instead, in Asia there are a lot of opportunities to shoot historical buildings or even modern buildings as well as ancient cultures, for example. But if you want to shoot nature subjects, generally Asia isn't the place (of course there are exceptions). I think Europe has some of the same problem as well.

Hi Chee Wai and Shun,

 

If I may add to what has already been mentioned, nature photography is a very specialized area often requiring expensive equipment - bird photography comes to mind. Even macro lenses aren't that cheap. This coupled with the fact that the general wildlife in Asia are more finite and elusive, makes nature photography in this region tougher and perhaps less appealing to most people. You simply can't compare the opportunities of shooting birds in Florida or even Australia to Borneo or Malaysia. They are totally different. And I am not even comparing Africa. Over there you can shoot a lion with a 50mm lens! That is if you don't mind being eaten.

 

Another point which I feel has a part to play is that not many Asians are brought up to appreciate nature like our western counterparts. We are only beginning to learn of the importance of our natural surroundings. Most of the time we are too caught up with economic development to really appreciate the wonders of nature.

I do hope wildlife photography is possible in Asia too. After many trips to Africa, I am now off to India in a few weeks. It will only be a short trip but I do hope to do some bird photography in the Goa area. This area should be very good for birdlife.

 

As said before, many parts of Asia are much more densily populated compared to Africa. But there are many great places too. Just wish I had the time and money to visit them all. :-)

I cannot answer the original question (why so few nature photographers in Asia). But I feel that saying that Asia (or Europe) fail to offer sufficient nature/wildlife photography opportunities (Shun's response) is invalid.

 

From my (tiny!) backyard, smack middle in the suburbs, I can find at least two species of frogs, several species of geckos, a "fence lizard" (Calotes versicolor), one species of monitor lizard, at *least* a few dozen species of spiders and insects, about half a dozen pecies of dragonflies, two species of snails, two species of squirrel and a treeshrew, and easily two dozen species of birds, including two species of raptors and one species of waterfowl.

 

After work, two or three times a week, we usually spend several hours doing a quick night photographic tour of Bukit Gasing, a small green lung in the middle of Malaysia's largest, most polluted, and most overcrowded metroplex (Klang Valley). This green lung is really a tiny hill, with a remnant patch of rubber estate allowed to grow wild. Over a few months of surveying, we've come across (and photographed aplenty!): twelve species of frogs, including some commonly thought to have been found only in deep primary forest; two species of snakes; four to six species of lizards including geckos; eight species of fish; one species of freshwater turtle; five species of mammals (not including domestic ones!), including a palm civet and a squirrel that I've yet to identify; literally uncountable species of spiders (hundreds? thousands? wear a headlamp: due to the angle of the light, you will pick out spider eyeshine very clearly, as hard glittery jewels gleaming in the dark, and you will realize that your are absolutely surrounded by hordes of them!); tens of species of dragonflies and hundreds of species of other insects (even less countable than the spiders!), including absolutely magical giant moths and a host of aquatic insects (in both larval and imago stages); etc. Cannot speak for the birds, since I do not do much bird photography, and I rarely go in the daytime, but I've read assessments of the area that report over 120 bird species. The same report also noted that, when compared to other forest patches in the country, this area was generally low in its biodiversity ...

 

All that within 15 minutes of my home and work, in the Kuala Lumpur-Petaling Jaya greater metropolitan area. Within an hour's drive are several state parks, covering a wide spectrum of biomes (estuarine/mangroves, peat swamps, lowland dipterocarp forests, hill forests, limestone forests, montane forests, caves, etc.). Visit those and you'll find that your species lists, and photo opportunities, climb exponentially. While the overhyped "sexy" animals ("charismatic megafauna" such as tigers, elephants, tapirs, bears) require special equipment, training, patience and diligence, as well as access to special areas with habitat sizes large enough to support these guys, no matter what your set-up is you can always find some part of your environment's biodiversity within reach. You just have to know what to look for and when and how to look for it. Or, another way to to put it is that you just need to see things in the right way. Whether the opens plains of Wyoming of Serengetti or a tiny creak in the forests of Borneo, or the life-and-death battlegrounds of a garden pond in London, I am convinced that the number of nature photograph opportunities in each of these far exceed the capacity of a photographer within his or her lifespan.

FWIW, there does not seem to be any shortage of nature photographers in either Taiwan or Japan. During a recent research trip to Taiwan, casually browsing a couple of bookstores turned up Chinese translations of a fair number of popular English nature photography books, plus two or three books by Chinese authors. Plus, most of the locally published photography how-to books devote lots of both text and examples to nature. Judging from the magazines for sale, there seems to be a good market for local nature images too.

 

There are even (at least) two original Chinese books of the zone system and black and white nature photography (plus various translations and English originals).

While is true most photo tours are directed toward the more famous landmarks in Asia, I think the answer to your question depends on the definition of nature phoography. If you mean lions, tigers, etc in the wild, other places might offer better opporunities than Asia. If you mean beautiful flora, grand scenery, unusual visitas, I would say Asia has many of its own unique nature shots, away from the crowded areas. The area of Xinjiang in China comes to mind. I have many photos from that area that most U.S. viewers assume to have been taken in the more scenic part of Arizona or Utah. Chinese photogorapher, Zhao has done a great job of capturing these images in books and on calendars. Additionaly, most places have beautiful gardens and scenic respites.

Many responses to this post strike me as being really silly (sorry guys). In particular this one is one is real gem:

 

>Another point which I feel has a part to play is that not many Asians are brought up to appreciate nature like our western counterparts.

 

I'm thinking of the last six years I've spent shooting the in Karakorams and Himalayas, meeting local people, and am now shaking my head at how ill-informed this opinion is.

 

Yes, underdevelopment in Third World countries means that many people cannot afford expensive hobbies like photography, and yes poverty means that many people have to resort to exploiting natural resources (whether it's by things like deforestation or opening their cultures and societies to apathetic tourists, both Western and local). It only takes a little bit of sensitivity to appreciate that.

 

I've travelled extensively through North America, Europe, East Africa and East Asia. I've seen many beautiful places but nothing is even remotely as beautiful as the mountains of Asia. That's just me - I don't mean any disrespect for people who feel otherwise.

Hasan,

 

I am sorry if my statement has touched a raw nerve in you. Let me ask you this simple question : Since you have travelled so extensively and have shot in the Himalayas for six years, do you think you represent the typical Asian? And does that automatically make you a nature photographer? I know of some nature photographers who wouldn't bat an eye to the thought of glueing a young bird to a branch so that they can shoot the parent birds feeding the young in a "perfect" situation. And my wife would love to visit Alaska someday soon but she ain't no nature lover. I can vouch for that!

 

Please understand that it is not my intention to belittle us Asians in any way. When I mentioned that Asians are not brought up to appreciate nature as compared to our western counterparts, I qualified that by stating that we are too caught up with economic development to have time to appreciate our natural surroundings. How do you expect someone to appreciate nature, especially nature photography, when he hasn't enough food to feed himself and his family? IMO, appreciating nature is a bit akin to appreciating art. As we progress, we will learn to appreciate nature more.

 

I agree with Jeet who said that if we truly want to, we can find nature aplenty in our own backyard. It takes effort but if we have the interest, we will surely find lots of nature subjects.

I should have pointed out "the obvious" in my earlier article. Asia is a huge continent with many drastically different areas. Major cities such as Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore are quite different from the jungles in Bornio, which is quite different from the deserts in Mongolia .... What I posted earlier is a major generalization.

 

In my case, I happen to grow up in the city of Hong Kong and got intereated in landscape photography as a teenager, and I bought my first SLR there when I was 15. While there are a lot of relatively poor developing countries in Asia, I think plenty of people there can afford some decent camera equipment. And you don't need very expensive equipment to shoot landscape. Just keep in mind that most of the equipment we use today are made in Asia, mainly Japan. However, so far I have spent my entire adult life living in the US, and I see a lot more nature photography opportunities here in the US compared to in Hong Kong, where what used to be "country side" in my childhood have rapidly been replaced by residental areas to accomodate the growing population.

I have found wildlife photography to be much more difficult in S.E. Asia than in Africa or North America - despite S.E. Asia's tremendous biodiversity. I see two reasons for this: 1) Mammals and birds are more difficult to approach due to continued subsistance hunting, including poaching in most protected areas. It's difficult to stop people from hunting when their children are hungry. Hopefully economic development will reduce this pressure before it's too late. 2) Photography is more difficult in the rainforest than in deserts or grasslands... and of course the natural state of S.E. Asia is rainforest.<p>It's also more difficult to take landscape photos without showing the "hand of man" than it is in emptier places like Australia or western North America... not only is Asia more populated but it has been for a very long time. On the other hand, this is why the human cultures in Asia are so rich and diverse!<p>Incidently, if you are looking for a location near Singapore to photograph wildlife, I would recommend Taman Negara. You can shoot mammals from the hides there more easily than almost anywhere else in the region. The parks in Borneo are good too, especially those in Sabah and Sarawak (but see them before they burn...).<p>Having said all that, I still think you are lucky to live in one of the best parts of the world for photography in general.<p>Karl Lehmann <a href="http://www.lostworldarts.com/new_page_3.htm">Lost World Arts</a>

I can't agree with you more, Karl. Having lived in Singapore for more than I wish to remember, I have witnessed the destruction of many natural habitats for the sake of economic development. Many of the wildlife species that are endemic to my country are either extinct or seriously threatened. For example, we used to have tigers and wildboars roaming the main island but the last tiger was shot dead in 1930. I believe the same would apply to many large animals in this region. They are usually classified as threatened - which means they are limited in numbers.

 

But even as more skyscrapers are built, pockets of wildlife can still be found. However, as Karl correctly put it, the terrain and vegetation in this region is dense and this makes finding and shooting wildlife even more difficult. The situation is worse in other less developed countries where certain areas are not so easily accessible.

 

IMHO, landscape photography in Asia is so-so. I much prefer the scenery in Europe and America.

 

The only area in nature photography in this region where it is fairly easy going is shooting flowers/plants. There are plenty of opportunities here.

For me, if I want to continue to enjoy photography, the key is to be flexible! I am from Colorado, where nature photography opportunities abound. But about 3 months ago I left for a 3 year international assignment in Taiwan. What to do? Well, I may not be able to get the same variety of wildlife or scenics that I can in Colorado, but I am choosing to explore other areas, like people and street scenes. These certainly have more "character" than similar situations back home. Plus, they present a different set of challenges and learning experiences--all of which can only make me a better all-round photographer.

 

--Greg Lynch

Dear Asian,

Chee-Wai Fong's recommendation to make Website for Singapore refected me to make www.photo.net-Asia.com site.

 

As a Japanese, many discussion on this site, regarding to Camera, I am living in just one hour area from Nikon, Cannon, Mamiya, Sony's head office, and my friends, alumuni, are working over there.

 

If I can help something regarding Japanese matters from Tokyo, it is very happy thing.

Very few Japanese people on this photo.net discuusion forum, 'cause of the Language barrier and IT connection infrastructure issue here.

 

First of all, we can resolve the Language barrier portion, we are now Unicode system, so Chinese and Korean, Japanese are soon not big issue.

 

The other issue might be the people who supports this forum, like you.

I will invite Japanese Photographer to join this forum, then many people will get more information, a few decade ago, Travers, who own Camera and waring Glasses means Japanese.

Yes We are very much like Camera and our population is 125 million people.

 

Let's make photo.net-Asia.com, hope your idea.<div></div>