NEWS OF TODAY ~ Sabah as the bird sees it

Daily Express

 

Special Reports

Published on: Saturday, February 25, 2012

By: Chris Maskilone

SABAH including the majestic Mount Kinabalu was featured from a perspective that has never been documented before in a special one-hour documentary - Shoot for the Sky - premiering on the Biography Channel yesterday (Saturday).

Making this possible were two award winning photographers - Cede Prudente and Jonathan Wong - whose journey to capture the beauty of Sabah from a paramotor (parachute + motor) were captured in the documentary.

Besides Mount Kinabalu, the other locations they have chosen included the mangroves on Sandakan coastline, Semporna Islands, the reefs and home of the sea gypsies and Mount Kinabalu for the documentary, which is a joint-collaboration between National Film Development Corporation of Malaysia (FINAS) and GS Productions Sdn Bhd. It was produced by AETN All Asia Networks.

The story began a couple of years back when the director and founder of GS Productions Sdn Bhd, Julian Shori was looking for an effective way of capturing aerial photography.

Among the issues normally associated with aerial photography is vibration and high cost involved apart from being very complicated, he told the Daily Express.

"So I told Chris Humphrey (Executive Producer, AETN All Asia Network) why don't we tell a story about taking aerial pictures," he said, adding that he knew a photographer from Sandakan who also wanted to take pictures from air.

Humphrey told him to check with Cede who then told him that he was interested but that he does not know how to fly, said Shori.

"They (Cede and Jonathan) told us that they actually want to do this coffee table book comprising pictures of Sabah taken from the air but there are several issues, including the fact that using a helicopter is very expensive," he said.

Shori said taking pictures of Mount Kinabalu using helicopter was also not allowed.
"So we made preparations É part of the whole journey (in the documentary) was learning how to fly the paramotor," he said, adding that Cede and Jonathan learned to fly the device in Klang in the peninsula.

According to him, there were "a lot of accidents" and all of them were captured on film.
But, unlike using other contraptions, he said flying the paramotor was actually quite safe because "if the motor fails then you have the parachute to come down smoothly" although the risk factor has always been the weather.

After preparing the two main talents to fly, Shori said they did not face much difficulty in securing approval from the relevant authorities such as the Department of Civil Aviation.

In fact, the State Government had given them tremendous support particularly when shooting in the Tun Sakaran Marine Park as well as in Sabah Parks.
Shori said the locations were all chosen by Cede and Jonathan "and we were there only to capture their journey."

The production crew used 11 cameras to record the duo's experience.
"You'll see an organic show meaning it is not staged É they have done their best to capture everything from all angles but they cannot predict they can only guide them," said Humphrey.

Producer Valerie Lew, who is also a founding member of GS Productions, said they had wanted to cover the Kinabatangan River but it could not be done due to some constraints. For one, the Kinbatangan is full of crocodiles and it would be risky if they ended up in the river.

"I love the islands (in the East Coast of Sabah) É it is so untouched.
It is one of the diving spots in the world. It is really something that Sabah can really promote," she said when asked of her favourite location for the documentary.

"For me all three locations had their own speciality and beauty.
Frankly, Sabah is mind boggling it very beautiful not only its nature but even its people and seafood," said Shori.

Humphrey who had climbed Kinabalu before said it has always been beautiful to see the sea from above.
"It is nice to be reminded of Sabah's beauty," he said, adding that uniqueness of Cede and Jonathan's journey was that they are taking people to look at these locations from a different perspective, which very few people have the privilege.

"This programme gives you an alternative view of the beauty of Sabah," said Humphrey.
For the main talents, Cede, 47 and Jonathan, 27 there were many "mishaps, bad landings, bad take offs "you name it" which are normal in paramotoring and it is the risk that they just have to take during their adventure.

"One fine morning near Sepilok Forest, we were waiting for good wind to enable us to take off but the desired wind almost never happened so we have to endure on longer runs and many attempts.
"After a few failed attempts you get exhausted and running with the 30kg paramotor engine stuck on your back is bound to cause mishap," said Cede.

"But once you are airborne É it's a great feeling and you look forward to achieve the images you have imprinted on your imagination.

Then all becomes reality," he said.
Sharing Cede's sentiment, Jonathan said doing the programme was worth every second of blood, sweat and tears.

Cede, who had been taking aerial pictures on a helicopter before said taking pictures from the air has its pros and cons. However, using a paramotor, he was able to pilot his way to the intended subjects and at the same time choose the altitude to obtain the desired images.

Jonathan, who is a landscape photographer said he had always wondered "what would a bird's perspective be like."

"Being on a paramotor is totally different, the possibilities are endless, and how you compose and expose your creativity levels differs from being in a controlled situation such as in a helicopter," he said, adding that paramotor is also silent giving an advantage to "sneak up" on subjects.
On why they wanted to do this, Cede said:

"From these images we wish to showcase the spectacular view of some places in Sabah and a must to visit. Visitors can always access these locations via the respective government agencies or through tour operators."
"It's to share the beauty of Mother nature from a different perspective.

Being up there and conveying my images into an artistic representation of what beauty really is and why we should be conserving our planet is the main goal," added Jonathan.