Singapore-based nature photographer Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan has been awarded the title of National Geographic Nature Photographer this year for his stunning shot of a male orangutan peering out from behind a tree at a river in Borneo, Indonesia.
The result, announced today, was chosen by a panel of judges from 11,000 photo submissions across the globe. Titled ‘Face to Face In A River In Borneo’, the image also clinched first place in the wildlife category and won Bojan the grand prize of US$7,500 (S$10,141).
According to Channel NewsAsia, the 41-year-old Indian citizen and full-time photographer described his reaction to winning the awards as “humbled, thrilled and thankful to God”. He was also happy for what the photo could do, in bringing “more attention to their (orangutan) plight due to loss of habitat in Borneo”.
After moving to Singapore from India two years ago with his wife, Bojan credited the Singapore Zoo as his biggest inspiration.
“Two years ago, I visited the Singapore Zoo for the first time and I was just blown away by the primates there,” he explained to The Straits Times. “That’s what triggered me to travel to Indochina, Laos and Vietnam, searching for these primates and photographing them in the wild.”
Bojan revealed that the photo was captured when he was in Borneo in August to work on a book about endangered primates in Asia. After two days of patiently waiting, the orangutan appeared, and Bojan waded into the five-foot deep river to get a different angle of the creature.
He had apparently taken 25 to 30 different frames of the orangutan climbing down the tree and crossing the river, and the winning image was taken when the animal, slightly scared of Bojan’s presence, peeked out from behind the tree to check if he was still there.
The winning image will be published in an upcoming issue of National Geographic.
