On Location: Semporna Islands, Malaysia (cont.)

Malaysia #2 – Images by Art Wolfe

More images featuring the seas off Semporna, a small town on the east coast of Sabah State, Malaysia. I was continuing to photograph the amazing Bajau ‘sea gypsies’. These children don’t go to school, or speak Malay, and the families are not even counted as Malaysian. They are off the grid in every sense- living in stilted houses atop coral reefs. These people will be among the first to permanently lose their homes (and most likely their way of life) as sea levels rise. I found some villages of sea weed farmers, and you will notice their method, particularly in the aerials. Speaking of which- I was finally able to get a helicopter after waiting in limbo for four days. But the timing was the best possible window of weather for the entire five days! I continued to shoot from my plane’s window seat on my way to Sydney, via Kuala Lumpur. The huge cumulus clouds are typical of the tropics. They contain an amazing amount of energy, and as night falls provide spectacular lightning shows. You will notice a river flowing red with sediments from inland- obvious signs of further rainforest clearing to make way for palm oil plantations.