Forest Giants at Dawn

This image was captured at dawn from a lookout tower overlooking the primary rainforest of the Danum Valley in Malaysian Borneo.

On the previous day's trek, I had discussed with our guide Dennys the images I had in mind of forest trees emerging from morning mist. He said he knew a place where we might see just such a thing and that he could organise that but we would need to make an early start. And so it was that we were up at 4 am for the thirty kilometre drive from our hotel, the Borneo Rainforest Lodge, to the Danum Valley Research Station tower to catch the dawn. Indeed it was still a moonlit night as Dennys pulled up at the lookout in the lodge's white four wheel drive Toyota. 

Strangely, the tower's three stories were brightly lit by electric lanterns and there was a Toyota identical to ours parked outside. 'Is someone else here from the hotel?' I said to Dennys in surprise. 'Yes, that's the chef' he replied. He had secretly laid on a chef and waiter from the hotel just to cook breakfast for Jos and myself!

On the top floor of the lookout, a table had been set for two and the chef was already preparing to cook up a delicious meal. I set up my tripod and and we waited for the magic of the tropical dawn to unfold. 

We were not disappointed. As the sun crept above the horizon, the valley was flooded with soft golden light and trees and distant hills emerged and disappeared again in the shifting inversion clouds shrouding the forest.

I spent an enjoyable hour or so shooting with a telephoto lens to pick out sections of the constantly changing scene, my attention caught now and then by the waiter's 'would you prefer tea or coffee sir?' or 'would you prefer your eggs fried or scrambled madam?' and not until the sun was well above the horizon and rapidly burning off the mist did we sit down to one of the most unique and delicious breakfasts we have ever experienced.