WOW! That is a very short summary of my recent trip to the Misool Ecoresort in Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia. I am still getting over my jetlag, but starting to process my new images. I shot a variety of subjects from wide-angle soft coral underwater landscapes to above water remote beach sunsets, but some of my favorite images are of the anemonefish. I have wanted to photograph them ever since I first saw them underwater during my visit to Indonesia in 2000 and later while watching “Finding Nemo” hundreds of times with my daughters. It took me a few years, but I finally had the opportunity during this trip. These fish are constantly darting around in an agitated state while having a cute expression on their face, which makes them very frustrating to photograph. I spent 20-30 minutes patiently waiting for this clownfish to move into the most aesthetic position, all the while I photographed a hundred or more pictures that required immediate deletion. This image resonates with me for the head-on pouty expression on the clownfish’s face as well as the symmetry of the color and texture of the anemome around it. I created this image using my Canon 5DmkII and 100mm f2.8 macro lens in my Ikelite 5DmkII housing with dual Ikelite DS160 strobes set on TTL. This image required minimal processing using Aperture 3 and Photoshop CS5.

Click here to purchase a print of this image.

Yesterday was my first day of diving here in Raja Ampat. I woke up not feeling too great so I skipped the first dive. On the second dive, I got to use my new strobes for the first time. Over the years, I have only dabbled in taking wide-angle underwater photos, so I am learning how to use all of my equipment and figuring out all of the proper settings. I like a new challenge. On my second dive, I took this image, which is not exactly world-class, but I think that you can see where I am going with it. Unfortunately, I came up from the dive feeling even worse, and by the time I got back to my room, I crashed and had a fever. Last night was grim, but I seem to be getting over it. I must have caught whatever I have on the plane or maybe I brought it from home.

It is incredibly beautiful here. My room is straight out of an episode of Gilligan’s Island as it is a simple thatched roof bungalow built on stilts over the water backed by an idyllic palm covered beach. I am looking forward to getting back in the water again when I feel 100%.

This bird I did find in the guidebook. It is called a Byth’s Hornbill. Pretty wicked looking dinosaur of a bird. This one is the resident pest at Sorido Bay. When I first approached it, I was unaware that it was kinda tame. I took one look at that bill as it was coming at me and considering my past luck with getting bit by exotic critters, I backed off. Some of the locals then came over and showed me that they could actually touch it. I’m still not sold that I’m going anywhere near that beak, but I am quite pleased that I got to use my camera today and came away with some respectable images.

Update on 11/25-I figured out that this bird is a Kingfisher of Paradise.

Today started out very early. I am staying at the Waiwo Field Station of Conservation International. They are kindly putting me up for 2 nights before I start diving tomorrow with Papua Diving. I am trying to photograph the incredibly rare Wilson’s Bird of Paradise. I had to get up very early and hike a long way up hill through the jungle. I wore my sandals and was covered in mud by the time we got to where my guide had scouted the bird. I actually got a glimpse of it twice, but did not get off a single frame. I spent about 4 hours in my blind waiting with all manner of bugs crawling over me and biting the hell out of me. I am taking an anti-malarial drug, so I hope that it works because I’m gonna need it after that trek. Sitting on my knees in the mud in the jungle of Papua, what a treat! I am going to try again tomorrow. This bird is not a BOP, but rather something kinda cool that is not in the field guide that I have been looking through all evening. At least I took some pictures today that I can feel good about.

I left Seattle 24 hours ago and during that time, I went from my house all the way to Jakarta. Incredible! The 13 hour flight from Seattle to Taipei was a bit bumpy flying over the Aleutian Islands, but otherwise I got a little bit of sleep. It was also my first time flying on a Boeing 777. During my few hours in Taipei, I found the only Starbucks at the airport. After all my years of travel, I finally got to fly on a Boeing 747 to Jakarta. I got to sit in the nose area which looked like business class to me, but I did not pay any extra for the seat. I wish that I had that comfy seat coming across the Pacific. Anyways, I made it through customs here in Indo, cleaned myself up, and I am now using the internet. I thought that folks back home might like to see me, so I took this quick snapshot. The exotic fragrances here at the airport are bringing back many fond memories of when Daisy and I traveled to Bali 8 years ago. It has been a dream of mine to return, and now I have. I am trying to stay up for a few more hours and have dinner before crashing hard for the night. There is a 10 hour time change that I need to start getting use to, since I’ll be hitting the ground running tomorrow afternoon. I just found out that I might have limited access to the internet this next week, so if that is the case, I will try and post some images from my first few days of diving. Thanks for checking in with me and sharing in my adventures.

I am frantically running around today trying to get my last minute preparations done. I am leaving in a little under 12 hours for one of my most ambitious and fantastic trips, yet. I will be flying for the next 2 days to Jakarta, Indonesia. On Friday, I will continue flying to Sorong in Papua province. I should be met there by my guides who will take me by boat to a remote village where I will spend the weekend trying to photograph the rare Wilson’s Bird of Paradise before continuing on with 1 week of diving with Papua Diving followed by 11 days at the Misool Ecoresort. Round trip this adventure is going to be a little under 4 weeks! I should have many incredible new images from the trip to share after the New Year. Wish me luck!