I set out to photograph Borneo's lesser-known nocturnal wildlife. Here's how I got on

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Rémi Vacher on an expedition to the island, where he chose to photograph its rainforest nightlife

Discover Borneo's Nightlife
In the canopy of the jungle, the sun was quite strong but because the vegetation is dense there were lots of shadows so I played around to get the right angle to make sure that the lizard’s head would fall in the bright light (aperture: f/7.1, ISO: 100, shutter speed: 1/500s). (Image credit: Rémi Vacher)

 "My trip to Borneo had multiple objectives. The first was capturing the five species of wildcats living in tropical forests. Within a week, I knew it would be a real challenge but we managed to find the Leopard Cat and the Marbled Cat, which was a great achievement. 

However, since wildcats are usually active at night, we spent a lot of time in the dark. So, as the second part of my project, I set myself the goal to capture Borneo’s diverse wildlife in the dark – the island has so much more to offer than just wildcats. 

Portrait of Wallace’s Flying Frog  For this image at night, I used a Laowa macro lens that gives sharp pictures but everything is manual which is a challenge at night, in the jungle because it is quite hot and dark and a frog could be moving fast. I shot this picture using an off-camera flash to avoid bad lighting (coming from the front) but instead coming from the top (aperture: f/7.1, ISO: 200, shutter speed: 1/320s).  (Image credit: Rémi Vacher)

From a photography standpoint, taking beautiful pictures at night in such a hostile environment was challenging; from the leeches that would find a way to attach themselves to me to the humidity, the inaccessibility of some areas and the pouring rain that could arrive at any time.

Because we were travelling by car, the hardest part was spotting the wildlife. We used a torch to see if we could get any reflections from the eyes. Once we spotted an animal, we stopped and figured out what type or species it was so we knew how to approach it. I needed to think quickly and figure out how to get the shot.

The elusive Leopard Cat  One of the main challenges with the Leopard Cat is, first of all, to find it. Once you find it, quite often alongside a road, is how to get out of the car without scaring it. Here also, using an off-camera flash to not shoot straight into his eyes, I went down the vehicle with caution and asked someone to hold the flash from the car for me (aperture: f/6., ISO: 4000, shutter speed: 1/250s).  (Image credit: Rémi Vacher)

Usually, it is better to shoot from ground level. However, most animals are shy and tend to run away. Also, shooting with a flash in the pitch dark needs to be avoided at all costs as it goes straight into the animal’s eyes and creates poor lighting conditions. So, I used an off-camera flash that I left on the floor, positioned 90° degrees from the camera, or I held the flash or got someone else to hold it. 

Most of the wildlife shots we see tend to be captured in the daytime, so discovering a completely different viewpoint was just amazing. The stars all over the sky, the sound of silence and hearing the creatures moving around silently in their natural habitat was a whole new experience. 

I am glad that this project has allowed me to experience Borneo’s wildlife at night and that it has also given others the chance to discover it through my photography."

Tarsier, the small night primate of the Jungle Finding Tarsier in the jungle is definitely quite a challenge because from the moment they see lights they would turn around but we got lucky that day. Now, because they are holding to small branches or bamboo in the middle of other vegetation it is easy to photograph without clutter around. What I did in this scenario is that using the off-camera flash that I put at 45 degrees from the camera I managed to get a side-picture of the tarsier with the light coming more naturally (aperture: f/7.1, ISO: 4000, shutter speed: 1/250s).  (Image credit: Rémi Vacher)

Tech details

(Image credit: Canon)

Camera: Canon EOS R5

Lenses: Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM

Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO

Other equipment: Godox XPro III, Godox V1, Softbox

Discover Borneo's Nightlife
Rémi Vacher

Rémi Vacher is a French-born wildlife photographer based in Dubai who captures the beauty of nature through his lens. Away from his day job as a cybersecurity engineer, Rémi dedicates his spare time to photographing the world’s most remarkable creatures in their natural habitats. Rémi has embarked on countless expeditions to remote corners of the globe, often acting as a guide on the journey. 

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Kim Bunermann
Kim Bunermann
Technique Editor

Kim is the Technique Editor of Digital Photographer Magazine. She specializes in architecture, still life and product photography and has a Master's degree in Photography and Media with a distinction from the FH Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences in Germany. While studying, Kim came to the UK for an exchange term at the London College of Communication. She settled in the UK and began her career path by joining Future. Kim focuses on tutorials and creative techniques, and particularly enjoys interviewing inspiring photographers who concentrate on a range of fascinating subjects including women in photography, the climate crisis; the planet, its precious creatures and the environment.