We went on a four-night jungle trek in Sumatra outside of Bukit Lawang recently. Seeing orangutans like this is an incredible experience. Sharing one of my photos - the jungle is a challenge to shoot in because it's so dark - high ISOs are necessary - and then, the orangs are backlit if they are in trees. I got lucky with this shot - it's about the only one where there's a light in her eyes.

And I get so excited, especially at the first sightings, that I don't pay enough attention to my camera settings. But I managed to get a couple of good shots so will share more as I process them. The trekking was no joke - had to use vines to rappel or ascend several times because it was straight up and down mountains. I'm glad we went in the dry season because I really don't know how we could have handled it if it were muddy.

I've seen chimpanzees and gorillas in the wild in Uganda, but I have to say, seeing orangutans like this was even better. There's just something special about orangutans.

[BigMackCam]

Nice story, outstanding photo of beautiful creatures, and a real demonstration of what the 55-300 can do in the right hands. Very well captured!

Incidentally, I like the back-lighting here. I think it works very well indeed. And the catch-lights in the mother's eyes are perfect

[bertwert]

Great description, and an excellent shot as well

[PJ1]

Great shot and story. I have not seen gorillas or chimpanzees in the wild but I agree with you - orangutans are something special. They share less of our DNA but those I encountered could be very "human". I appreciate the difficulty of shooting in the half light of the jungle too. It was back in the film days and I was using the FA135/2.8 wide open. I did not get anything as good as your shot!

[sealonsf]

Nice story, outstanding photo of beautiful creatures, and a real demonstration of what the 55-300 can do in the right hands. Very well captured!

Thanks for the comments! I would really like to upgrade my 55-300 since it's 2 versions old but it has been a faithful friend for several years now. :-)

---------- Post added 09-20-2018 at 02:48 PM ----------

Great description, and an excellent shot as well

Thanks!

---------- Post added 09-20-2018 at 02:53 PM ----------

Great shot and story. I have not seen gorillas or chimpanzees in the wild but I agree with you - orangutans are something special. They share less of our DNA but those I encountered could be very "human". I appreciate the difficulty of shooting in the half light of the jungle too. It was back in the film days and I was using the FA135/2.8 wide open. I did not get anything as good as your shot!

Thanks for commenting. Being in Australia, you're a lot closer to the orangutans than us. It was a long haul to get there... San Francisco to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to Jakarta (long layover), Jakarta to Medan, Sumatra, and then a 3+ hour taxi ride to Bukit Lawang. Basically, we left home on a Friday night and didn't arrive into Bukit Lawang until Sunday.

I almost went to Indonesia 20+ years ago and I was wondering what it would have been like to see orangutans back then.

[Tonytee]

There was a TV show entitled "Orangutan Island" which was filmed in Jakarta, I believe. They are highly intelligent and can be very entertaining. The Smithsonian Institute was funding the program, (I believe) and suddenly it was off the air. Very nicely captured. Thanks so much for posting.

TT

[Schraubstock]

...I like the back-lighting here.

One couldn't do any better if one tried.

It is perfect, most of the time a washed out sky is a pain, but here it is a bonus.

[GeoJerry]

Very nice! Perfectly exposed!

[Schraubstock]

From one primate to another (including myself )

P.S. The famous triangular grip

[chrelc]

Very nice picture! What ISO did you generally end up shooting at in the jungle?

[sealonsf]

There was a TV shoe entitled "Orangutan Island" which was filmed in Jakarta, I believe. They are highly intelligent and can be very entertaining. The Smithsonian Institute was funding the program, (I believe) and suddenly it was off the air. Very nicely captured. Thanks so much for posting.

TT

Thanks for mentioning that. I'll see if I can find the show online. I haven't heard of it.

---------- Post added 09-21-2018 at 09:25 AM ----------

One couldn't do any better if one tried.

It is perfect, most of the time a washed out sky is a pain, but here it is a bonus.

Thanks for commenting! Their color is amazing.

---------- Post added 09-21-2018 at 09:26 AM ----------

From one primate to another (including myself )

P.S. The famous triangular grip

Ha! I would love to see those monkeys. They're on my list of animals to see.

---------- Post added 09-21-2018 at 09:34 AM ----------

Very nice picture! What ISO did you generally end up shooting at in the jungle?

It would have been so much easier if I'd had a faster lens. I started trying to shoot at 800 but the shutter speed was too slow. This photo was at 1600 and I had to go even higher at other times. I started in fully manual but quickly realized it would be better to shoot aperture priority and watch to make sure the shutter speed was fast enough. The other issue is that as they move, the lighting changes dramatically.

I suspect that the camera wasn't always very steady in my hands with the heat, humidity, exercise and excitement. I had a monopod with me that in retrospect I might have occasionally been able to use. The other issue is that there was a crowd whenever orangutans were found. I'd frame a great shot only to have someone move right in front of my camera.

If I'd had the 300mm f4 lens it would have been nice! But then, they are often very close, at one point I had to move out of the way because a female orangutan was coming directly at me from about 4 feet away. I try to stay out of wild animals way but they don't always feel the same way.

[Fries]

Congratulations with experiencing something really special. And you really nailed this shot!

[sealonsf]

Congratulations with experiencing something really special. And you really nailed this shot!

Thanks for commenting. It truly was a special experience.