As we start the new year, I’m taking a few moments to look back and reflect on a some highlights from the past year. It has been a rewarding year of great adventures and conservation photography projects. I’ve selected a few photos to share as a little visual review of the year. Thanks for following along, and hope you enjoy it!
A Few Highlights from 2023
5 Feb 2023: On the way to Antarctica on a Lindblad/National Geographic Expedition trip I found myself in a Zodiac surrounded by swimming King Penguins off the coast of Macquarie Island. Not having an underwater camera housing with me, I trusted in the waterproofness of my iPhone, submerged it and fired as fast as I could. This is one of the resulting shots. And yes, the phone still works!
12 April 2023: On assignment for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology I filmed the work of the organization Natura Mexicana and their efforts to conserve the endangered Scarlet Macaws in the Montes Azul Biosphere Reserve in southern Mexico. Our conservation film to help spread awareness about their work will be coming out in 2024.
7 June 2023: At night on a beach on the north coast of West Papua, I filmed a Leatherback Sea Turtle as she covered her eggs after laying. This was on another Cornell Lab expedition where I led a team documenting the biodiversity of West Papua from coast to mountains for a film that was shown at the COP28 meeting in December. You can see the film here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPb1CQWty60 We will be sharing more from this project in the months to come in support of our Indonesian partners as they work to conserve the forests of Papua.
16 July 2023: I returned to Gunung Palung National Park in Indonesian Borneo to continue documenting the biodiversity of this refuge of lowland rainforest biodiversity, working with my wife Cheryl Knott’s team. Stay tuned for a new National Geographic magazine article coming out in early 2024. This is the female orangutan Berani, with her baby born in December 2022. Learn more about the work in Gunung Palung and how you can get involved at www.savewildorangutans.org
15 Aug 2023: I led my first Underwater Photo Workshop in the spectacular Raja Ampat Islands based at the Papua Explorers resort with Zafer Kizilkaya. It was a great experience and we will do it again in 2024. The reefs of Raja Ampat are healthy, and the photo opportunities are amazing. Come join us! www.papuaexplorers.com/underwater-photography-workshop/
20 Nov 2023: I decided it was time to share some of my experience and knowledge about wildlife photography with others, and I created and launched my first online course: Bird Photography Masterclass.
The more photographers we have out there documenting the natural world and building appreciation for it the better, and I believe I can help by sharing the approach that has worked for me, and that I have developed over the years. While I do teach some in-person workshops, the medium of an online course seems like a great way make my teaching available to a wide audience. You can learn more at masterclass.timlaman.com.
Thanks for joining me on my adventures over the past year. As you see from my photo captions above, several of my 2023 projects haven’t reached fruition yet, so stay tuned in 2024 for further developments. And of course I’ll keep you posted on new projects as we get further into 2024.
I hope you are as excited about what lies ahead in 2024 as I am. All the best for the New Year!
Warmest regards,
Tim Laman
PS. As of right now, there are three opportunities to join me in the field on photography trips in 2024. See below, and don’t hesitate to reach out to my studio email if you have questions (studio@timlaman.com).
- Norway’s Fjords and Arctic Svalbard: May 15 – June 1. www.expeditions.com
- Raja Ampat Underwater Photography Workshop: Aug 11-21. www.papuaexplorers.com/underwater-photography-workshop/
- Upper Amazon Aboard the Delfin II: Nov 9 – Nov 19. www.expeditions.com
