An unspoilt Indonesian paradise with an ethical issue at heart. A teaser of what is to come...

INDONESIA'S LAST UNTOUCHED ATOLL ECOSYSTEM - PART 1

My recent flurry of work has left me with little time or energy to create new posts and correspond with my new Steemit family here. Today however, I have some time and I would like to use it by sharing with you a little taste of a most beautiful & important few days I spent last week in Maluku (the blue bit under the 'I' of Indonesia)

(map credit to BaliInformationGuide.com)
https://baliinformationguide.com/bali-map/

I feel truly blessed to have been selected as the 'film guy' for a very special kind of project which not only landed me in paradise for three days where I was free to run around with complete creative control, but also opened my eyes to the dire need for conservation on this planet. Especially in fast developing nations such as Indonesia which as an archipelago is made up of 18,307 islands with only 922 of those permanently inhabited. But these statistics are changing fast for obvious reasons. Everyone wants a little piece of this paradise.

Needless to say, I was on fire throughout my stay and barely slept at all! The locals called me the 'mad one' in their local tongue and laughed every time I rushed past them, covered in sweat, clutching at my beloved equipment, off to catch another shot....and another....and another!

I was charging around like a man obsessed, day and night, shooting HDR motion control time-lapse, DSLR footage, astro time-lapse, drone & underwater gopro shots.

How could I not, given the incredible backdrop and limited time? This was a very special place indeed.

I look forward to describing these islands in greater detail for you in my next post, with some very special photography, video work & a poignant story to go with it. A story which reminds me so very much of the oldest question of all, 'why are we here?'

Are we here to be 'successful' and achieve so called 'security' through acquisition of fiat currency locked away in some bank, whist taking from the earth what we want from it without any kind of connection to the long term implications of our actions? Or are we here to evolve as a species and wake up to the reality that there is something seriously wrong with the life we have created on 'Planet Earth' ...and now is the time to do something about it! Not tomorrow.

We CAN live in harmony with this planet. And we must if we are to survive as a species.

These islands together are known as an atoll: a ring-shaped coral reef, island, or series of islets. I witnessed the full group of over 109 pristine untouched islands there, so far unaffected by man's greed. And would very much like to keep them that way! The purpose of this trip was to survey the islands for potential development & conservation. And thankfully, the group I was assisting are the eco friendly and conscientious type, seeking to preserve 95% of these islands exactly as they are, building the resorts themselves out of local materials only. So no concrete anywhere!

The property development game in Indonesia is booming still, no matter what you might have heard. Here in Bali it's hard to find an area where there is no property development at all. You have to travel well off the beaten track to find the true tranquility of Balinese rice fields and sacred jungle rivers without the sound of a distant machines building the capitalist dream at the expense of nature.

Above you can see the hut in which I did manage to sleep a little. The softly flowing water of life beneath us was pure magic. We pooped through a small hole in the floor, directly into the sea... and then watched the fish gobble it up! These waters were alive with so many wonderful & bizarre looking fish. Some of which I was able to capture.

Indonesia is ripe for the picking and investment here has been simplified to encourage development. Please don't be mad at me for making films like the one below. We do not live in a Recourse Based Economy yet and just like you I must still find a way to put food on the table for family. And until I rise to whale status here on Steemit, I have little choice but to accept whatever work comes my way!

I made this film a few months ago for a property development company and it sums up the situation here in Indonesia rather well.

The internet is our sword in this battle and we must work hard to become masters of our chosen weapon for I have witnessed the power that we are up against. I am but a humble film-maker, photographer blogger, but we all have our part to play. And no part is too small.

I learned on this trip that money only divides us and for those familiar with the work of Jacques Fresco you will already know that a society without money is completely plausible utilising a Resource Based Economy to thrive as a species in harmony with our mother earth. Yet here we are, standing idly by as the next mass extinction is in full swing all around us. For those of you not familiar with this, I suggest you watch Racing Extinction. Or this simple trailer I cut together a few months ago:

So my friends, in the next few days I will be sharing with you here the bigger story behind these magnificent islands I was blessed to call my home, even if only for a short while. The follow-up to this article will include a ton of jaw dropping photography, time-lapse & drone shots...

...and a message of great importance.

It has been my pleasure over the years to convert my perspective on the world into time-lapse art. All of which can be viewed on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqqcEBprtry9rqOcWBVA7rQ

I have not yet had a moment to craft my time-lapse & drone shots from this particular trip into a finished piece of art, but it is only a question of time before I will be able to resist this temptation no longer. And frankly it would be selfish of me not to share with you beauty of this magnitude!

I leave you now with a time-lapse film from my early days on the road, shot in Zambia & South Africa. In this one I use famous quotes about nature to enhance the visuals. It was my first effort using motion control tracking systems, and whilst I am still very proud of this film, I have learned much since then :)

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” (Margaret Mead)