Save Wild Orangutans and get a Free Print

As many of you know, my longest term personal photography project is documenting the orangutans of Gunung Palung, in support of the science and conservation work of my wife Cheryl Knott’s project and her NGO, the Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program (a US 501c3).

So it is my pleasure to offer some free prints to supporters this month.  We are attempting to build some “crowd sourced” funding for the organization, so that we can grow our education and conservation programs in the communities around the park, with the aim of long term forest and buffer zone preservation for orangutans and all the other biodiversity.

I hope you will consider becoming a monthly contributor.  Any small donation is welcome, but if you are able to commit to $10/month or more, you will receive your choice of one of three of my prints shown below in December, in time for Christmas.  So you could keep it for yourself or give it away as a gift!  Please go to this LINK to learn more and sign up. 

You’ll also become a member of our “Save Wild Orangutan” team as a monthly donor, and receive our exclusive updates from the field and blog posts for our members which I think you will enjoy.

Thanks for your consideration of this opportunity!

The Wild Ride

“The Wild Ride” is one of the my favorite orangutan images I have made in Gunung Palung for several reasons.  It tells the story of a mother orangutan traveling through the primary rainforest, which you can tell because of the massive size of the tree trunk in the left side fo the frame.  It shows how she is using large vines, or lianas, as the bridges through this complex canopy of trees, and finally, it shows how a very young infant has to be able to hold on tight to mom’s skin and fur all by herself because mom needs all her hands and feet for locomotion.  It is hard to explain how much effort was needed to capture an image like this.  It involves following the orangutans through the forest all day with the research team carrying camera gear, and looking for gaps through the foliage.  The best views are from hills I’ve scrambled up in steep terrain to be able to get shots that give you the feeling of being in the canopy with the orangutans (like in this shot) and not just looking up from the ground.  All the sweat is worth it though, when a great moment like this presents itself, and I’m able to capture it to share with all of you.