Indonesia has such bountiful natural ecosystems with amazing and rare wildlife species and diverse vegetation, and yet local appreciation for this is so slim.

With a meager local interest in keeping visual records of its immense biodiversity, Indonesia’s flora and fauna have perhaps drawn greater admiration from overseas.

This is the concern revealed by Riza Marlon, affectionately known as Caca, Indonesia’s leading wildlife photographer. Only a handful of Indonesians are engaged in this field of photography, compared to the many foreign scientists and photographers who have greatly documented local biological resources.

“Snapping wildlife is recording natural history. Nature runs faster toward extinction than our photographing work,” Caca says.

“Today we’re taking pictures in this forest, and two to three years later the forest will most likely be denuded or have become an industrial area. It’s like trying to catch up with a train while riding on a bicycle. It gets even harder to chase, so it’s not surprising wildlife photos are so expensive,” the father of two high school students said.

It was his pursuit of the visual expression of nature that prompted Caca to initially delve into wildlife photography in early 1990. At that time, the biology graduate of National University in South Jakarta realized the lack of flora and fauna documentation in Indonesia, even pictures of protected species.

Caca was thus first attracted to photography as a wildlife researcher.

“I frequently accompanied foreign surveyors, members of nongovernmental organizations, photographers and film crews. I was wondering why most foreigners were more interested in our beautiful and rare wildlife than Indonesians were,” recalled Caca. There are indeed very few wildlife photographers, perhaps because this job demands photographers remain out in the wild for days on end, with a very low certainty of securing their targets.

In his work as a wildlife photographer, Caca says opportunities are very rare. He tries not to lose the first opportunity he gets when he sees whatever species he is looking for, while restraining his emotion to avoid wasting frames. “Lighting may be very poor, but a precious moment is not likely to recur. This should be managed to ensure a well-timed shot,” says Caca, who usually spends a month at a time on his photographic expeditions.

Thanks to his perseverance, wildlife photos bearing Riza Marlon’s name are now published in various media by such international agencies as the WWF, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and UNESCO. Caca has been asked several times to direct foreign television documentaries, which he sees as a burgeoning business.

Caca is never particular about the brands of cameras he uses, although he prioritizes those with a complete range of lenses — from wide angle, to long-range tele-lenses and special lenses. This is because when you are out in the wild, no one knows what subject will appear on the camera, he says. For this reason, Caca always travels well equipped, carrying a shockproof and waterproof bag.

For his work, Caca must hide in a camouflaged shelter beneath branches of a tree for morning surveillance before animals wake up. The shelter he uses is especially designed to prevent animals, including predators, from sensing his body odor or movements.

Nature photography often demands considerable sacrifice. When Caca was trying to photograph birds of paradise (the six-plumed Parotia) in the Arfak Mountain Reserve, Papua, Caca had to climb for 16 hours, and then do a two-hour trek to the habitat of the species (indigenous to Papua) carrying 30 kilograms of equipment.

Despite the trend toward digitalization in photographic media, Caca still mostly uses slide film with a digital camera for backup. Caca says he is also selective about processing his shots digitally using a computer. Wildlife photography, he says, should not rely too much on software, as this can produce not so genuine results.

“In wildlife photography, we must be honest with ourselves, without unnecessary combinations, such as a bird being cut and pasted to perch on a buffalo horn. One should be careful since not all birds share the same habitat as buffalos, so it could divulge the trick. You’re better off leaving it as it is in nature,” Caca said.

Caca, born in Jakarta, acknowledged the difficulty in marketing his work. He has traditionally relied on the demand from institutions interested in nature conservation. Meanwhile, space for wildlife photography in Indonesia’s print media is growing more limited.

However, his great longing to publish an illustrated book on Indonesian wildlife will soon be realized, with the help of Wita, his wife. Scheduled to be released in early November, the book is written in lay language for easy understanding.

Caca also groups the wildlife species into West, Central and East Indonesian zones, with clear descriptions of all the pictures. Readers will be able to learn or deepen their knowledge about Indonesia’s animals, particularly rare species, which makes the book even worthier of collection.

In his long journey as a wildlife photographer, Caca is fortunate to be one of the few witnesses of Indonesia’s natural splendor.

— Photo by JP/P.J. Leo