Penan Hunter — Sarawak Blowpipe
30,858.75 ¥
A Penan hunter in the Sarawak rainforest of Borneo — his homemade belian hardwood blowpipe raised to the forest canopy, tracking a target invisible to the photographer, the forest understory framing the moment.
Description
The Penan are among the last semi-nomadic forest people of Borneo — their transition to settled communities has been substantial but some families maintain seasonal forest use and the traditional skills of blowpipe hunting and forest navigation. This documentary portrait was made with a Penan family from the Upper Baram region who participate in the Mulu National Park’s forest experience programme — a context in which traditional skills are practiced with cultural authenticity rather than performance. The hunter is tracking a squirrel in the forest canopy: the 2-metre blowpipe is raised at approximately 60 degrees, the hunter’s eye aligned down the bore, the animal target invisible in the canopy beyond the photograph’s depth of field. Shot on a 35mm prime at f/2.8 with available forest light at ISO 3200, the filtered rainforest light and the blowpipe geometry define the composition.
