Photography expeditions
Sabah Wildlife Photography Expeditions
A photography expedition in Sabah requires control over the vehicle, boat and schedule. This guide explains how to build an itinerary around your subjects and the light.
Daily schedule
The inverted daily schedule
A standard tour schedule is fixed around meal times and a mixed group. A photography itinerary strips that away. The day is dictated directly by the subject and the quality of light. If your target is a nocturnal cat, your day might begin with dinner at 7pm and a spotlighting drive until 3am. This demands strict control over the vehicle and boat.
The standard for a premium photography trip is 1 open window per photographer in a 4x4 vehicle. Crowding a vehicle destroys your panning radius. On a boat you need the space to pivot smoothly. Operating privately also gives you the agility to pivot and follow the opportunity. A local naturalist knows where to look and when to wait.
Target sites
Terrestrial reserves and rivers
Different reserves serve very different purposes for a camera. A good photography itinerary picks 2 or 3 strong locations and stays long enough to work them thoroughly.
Danum Valley Study Centre
Access unlogged primary forest and target macro subjects on night walks.
Deramakot Forest Reserve
Endure long hours in the dark to target the Sunda clouded leopard.
Tabin Wildlife Reserve
Focus on oil palm plantation boundaries to target small cats.
Surrounding areas
Nearby reserves and centres
Danum Valley Study Centre
Deep inside the Danum Valley Conservation Area, this working research station offers a stay focused entirely on the 50-kilometre trail network and the rainforest ecology.
Borneo Rainforest Lodge
Situated on the Danum River inside a primary rainforest of a lineage some 130 million years old, this 31-chalet lodge offers high-end comfort and expert wildlife guiding 2.5 hours from Lahad Datu.
Kinabatangan River
The Kinabatangan floodplain holds the highest concentration of wildlife in Borneo. This is where you go to track orangutans and proboscis monkeys from a boat.
Daily schedule
Plan your expedition
Tell the team your target species to build a dedicated itinerary that puts your camera in the right light with the right transport.