Borneo Is Burning
Yesterday, National Geographic News posted Tim's photo story on their website, Photos: Indonesia's Rampant Fires Threaten Rare Orangutans. A couple of weeks ago Tim was on assignment in Indonesia photographing the devastation. He was on the front lines where people were desperately trying to put out the fires. Not only is this a huge ecological disaster threatening orangutans and other wildlife but it is also effecting the air we breath. Check out Tim's Instagram (@TimLaman) to see other pictures of the wildfires. To see more pictures of the endangered orangutans the fire is threatening, visit Tim Laman's Wild Orangutan gallery.
Wild Planet Interview
While in London, Tim was interviewed by Wild Planet about winning the portfolio award in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. The article features 14 questions and all 6 winning images.
2014 – It’s Been Quite a Year!
Wildlife Photographer of the Year award, Explorer’s Club membership, and a Canon exhibit and ad campaign make for a banner year.
Fieldwork is what I am all about…. Field research and exploration, and spending many months in the wild corners of the planet seeking those elusive, story-telling images of rare species and wild landscapes. This year was no exception, with a lot of field time on my “Documenting Orangutan Diversity” project in Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as shooting in some other locations such as the Maldives, the Sierra Nevada range, and China.
But as the year wraps up, I also realize that it has been a very special year for me. It’s very rewarding when all the hard work in the field yields not only published photos and articles, but also other types of exposure and recognition. These were some of the special highlights of 2014:
Canon’s 100 Million lenses campaign: As Canon reached the major landmark of producing their 100 Millionth lens, they created a print ad campaign in Japan that featured my Greater Bird-of-Paradise image and a shot of me with my camera up in the canopy in the New Guinea rain forest. I have been an enthusiastic user of Canon equipment for over three decades, so it was a great feeling to be selected to represent all the Canon photographers out there and the Canon brand for this ad.
The Explorer’s Club: As I combine video shooting on Canon DSLR’s more and more with my still photography, it was a milestone for me to receive my first filmmaking award at a film festival in January. We won the “Best Exploration Film” at the New York Wild Film Festival. The Festival was held at the famous Explorer’s Club in New York, and led to opportunities to meet many members and see the club. Subsequently, I was nominated and accepted for membership in the Explorer’s Club, which I am very excited about. I look forward to opportunities to meet more of the renowned explorer’s who are involved with this club, and to continue to make expeditions in the spirit of exploration the club represents.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Portfolio Award: I’ve been entering photos in this granddaddy of all wildlife photography competitions for nearly twenty years. It is without a doubt the premier competition of its kind in the world. While at least ten of my images have received honors over the years, I had never one a major category or award. So it was a real career high point when my portfolio of six Birds-of-Paradise images won the new Portfolio Award category.
Canon Gallery Exhibit: In January, my year started out with a real milestone. Something I had dreamed about since I was a kid visiting Canon photo galleries in Tokyo. I had my own exhibit of my Birds-of-Paradise work shown in the Canon S Gallery at Canon Marketing Japan headquarters in Shinagawa, Tokyo. It was a thrill to see this childhood fantasy come true, and to spend time in Tokyo, giving a lecture to accompany the exhibit.
Meeting Sir David Attenborough: It’s pretty exciting when you get to meet a long-time hero and inspirational figure like Sir David. It was a real pleasure and an honor for Ed Scholes and me to meet Sir David in Bristol, UK this past April to work on a film project together. With our common interest in Birds-of-Paradise, we hit it off immediately. The film will be out in early 2015, so stay tuned!
2014 is going to be hard to beat, but here’s to 2015!
National Geographic PROOF Blog
This summer follow Tim's adventures with his family in Borneo documenting orangutans for an assignment with National Geographic on their PROOF blog. View his first post: Postcards From Borneo: A Family Adventure Begins Anew.
Tim Laman has been announced as the keynote speaker at this years Wildscreen Photography Festival
On Saturday October 25, Tim will be the keynote speaker at the Wildscreen Photography Festival held at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Formerly WildPhotos, this 3 day event includes workshops and talks from the best environmental and wildlife photographers. You can see the announcement and some of Tim's pictures on the Wildscreen Festivals website. 
Highly Honored Winner in Nature's Best Competition
Tim has been highly honored in the Birds Category of Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards 2013. His picture of the displaying lesser bird-of-paradise captured the attention of the judges. This picture was taken in the Vogelkop Peninsula in West Papua, Indonesia. The winning images will be on display at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. this fall.
Birds of Paradise Move to Philly
Tim's exhibit, Birds of Paradise: Amazing Avian Evolution, is now open at The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. The exhibit developed by National Geographic and The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is open from May 3 to September 1, 2014. Check out The Academy's website to plan your visit.
"Best Exploration Film" winner at the New York Wild Film Festival
Our short Bird of Paradise film called "Paradise Found", shot by Tim Laman, Ed Scholes and Eric Liner, and produced/edited by Tom Swartwout won the category "Best Exploration Film". It was a real honor and thrill to attend the festival this past weekend in New York City at the famed Explorer's Club.
Here is the TRAILER for the festival, which gives you a great overview of the films we saw last Saturday. You'll see glimpse of Tim rappelling and birds of paradise performing in the reel.
Go to the festival WEBSITE to see the trailers for the individual films and learn more about the winning films.
Canon Gallery S Exhibit in Tokyo
Ever since I was a teenager growing up in Japan and visited the Canon photo galleries in Tokyo, I had a dream to one day have my own work featured there. Now I am happy to say that a selection of my best Bird-of-Paradise photographs are on exhibit at the Canon Gallery S in Canon S Tower in Shinagawa, Tokyo. It is a short walk from Shinagawa station, so if you are in Tokyo, please check it out. It includes a video I shot in 4K using Canon's amazing EOS-1D C camera recently in Australia, displayed on a huge 84 inch monitor, and also samples of stills taken from 4K video frames.
Birds Of Paradise Book In Japanese
Birds Of Paradise: Revealing The World's Most Extraordinary Birds has been translated into Japanese and is available for purchase. One great addition to the book is that in the Japanese edition, it contains QR codes that take you directly to videos of the birds. You can find it in bookstores in Japan, or order it from the Nat Geo Japan website. If you are in the US or elsewhere and are interested in purchasing a copy please contact us by email at office@timlaman.com.
BBC Wildlife Portfolio
BBC Wildlife magazine published Tim's Birds of Paradise images in their December issue. The 13 page portfolio includes 12 of Tim's best Birds of Paradise photographs.
Birds of Paradise in Outdoor Photographer
This months issue of Outdoor Photographer features a story on Tim's Birds of Paradise project. Writer Amy Gulick tells of Tim's 8 year journey culminating with the publication of "Birds of Paradise: Revealing the World's Most Extraordinary Birds". It features some of Tim's best Birds of Paradise photographs. You can view the article online at Outdoor Photographer's website: Birds of Paradise. If you live in the U.S., you still have a couple more days to order the book to receive it before Christmas. Purchase the Birds of Paradise book at Tim Laman's store.
Print Sale
We are having a sale at Tim Laman's online archive. For the next 10 days everything is 10% off! At checkout, enter the coupon code: SALE10. This offer expires December 20th and can not be redeemed more than once. Happy Holidays!
N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences Host Birds of Paradise
The Birds of Paradise exhibit that deputed at National Geographic headquarters last year is now on display at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. You can visit the exhibit through March 23rd, 2014. Sarah Lindenfield Hall posed a nice review at WRAL.com
"Three Days, Three Wild Finds" in Harvard Gazette
Harvard University published a story on Tim's recent discoveries of new species in Cape Melville, Australia. This was part of his Cape York expedition where they were dropped off by a helicopter to the rainforest in the mountains made of boulders. Tim is an associate of Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology after receiving his Ph.D. in Biology from the prestigious university. View the entire story on the Harvard Gazette's website.
Tim Featured In Canon Ad
In the October issue of National Geographic Japan, Canon has taken out a multipage add featuring Tim. This picture was taken while photographing birds for his mangroves assignment. The ad is 4 pages and folds out from behind the front cover. To see some of the things Tim was photographing in Florida visit Tim Laman's Mangroves Gallery. (Photo by Zafer Kizilkaya)
About what he is doing here, Tim said "I waded into the water with my tripod to try get closer to the roseate spoonbills I was photographing. The sea was flat calm, and the bottom was pretty solid, so I kept slowly moving closer. Pretty soon I was in over my waist, but it really helped me get closer. I'm always willing to take some risk with my gear to get a unique angle...."
Cleaner Shrimp feature in Daily Mail
In August I photographed my son Russell diving off Bali, Indonesia, and getting his teeth cleaned by the cleaner shrimp that usually serve the needs of the local fish. The UK newspaper Daily Mail has now published the story. See it on DailyMail website:
Hornbills Of The World Available Now
You can now purchase the book Hornbills Of The World through our online store! This soft cover book by Pilai Poonswad, Alan Kemp and Morten Strange features photographs by Tim Laman and 61 other contributors. All 57 species are described with multiple photographs showing both the male and female birds. Each species has a description, distribution map, and information on the breeding ecology, habits and status of these unique birds.
Birds-of-Paradise Presentation in Jakarta
I gave a presentation on Ed Scholes and my Birds-of-Paradise Project in Jakarta last week. Read about it in the Jakarta Post!
@America Presentation Online
If you were not able to attend Tim's presentation, Birds of Paradise: Crown Jewels of Indonesia's Biodiversity, you can watch it online. The @America website posted the entire talk. You can also see some pictures they took here.