Geoff,
Unfortunately, Yayasan Sabah is a private company, whose main activities are
timber and palm oil production. They control massive swathes of Sabah. They
have strong links to the Sabah Chief Minister and his family and basically can
do what they like. Good luck with with trying to get that demand for the fee
rescinded.
There are plenty of other places in Sabah where you can get excellent bird
photographs without being viewed as a milch cow. I would suggest spending a
week at the Rainforest Discovery Centre and the Sepilok-Kabilli Reserve at
Sepilok. Same species as Danum and much cheaper accom etc. also at the RDC and
Kabilli, you have a good chance of seeing wild Orangs as they go to and from
the Orang Sanctuary for a free feed. If you want any info on the RDC,
Sepilok-Kabilli contact me off line.
Carl Clifford
> On 22 May 2014, at 17:48, "Geoffrey Allan Jones" <>
> wrote:
>
> Good Evening everyone.
>
> I have been reading with interest the thread about charges for using your
> camera in National Parks and I have come across 2 experiences in Australia,
> One at Lawn Hill were I was walking along a path beside the river carrying
> my 500 lens & camera and was asked by the ranger if I was a professional
> photographer which I answered no and moved on. The other time was down here
> in my home patch at Pound Bend Reserve Warrandyte. When a couple of rangers
> asked me was I a professional Photographer because of the size of the lens
> that I was using, and again I said no. In both cases it was assumed that
> because I was using a large lens I must be a professional photographer. What
> is the reason for this? I believe that it goes back to a time when some
> commercial filmmakers rope off certain areas in Nat Parks to shoot wildlife
> docs and so it was for that reason the need for a permit is needed, but it
> should not be for someone walking along a track and not interfering with
> animals or people walking along the track. So there is always a presumption
> that because you own a large lens and have a website you must be a
> professional, a fine example of this is an email that was sent to my Travel
> Agent from Borneo Rainforest Lodge last week, below is the email
>
>
>
> We understand that Mr Geoffrey Jones is a professional wildlife photographer
> and wants to photograph birds at Borneo Rainforest Lodge/ Danum Valley. He
> also has his own website with photographs that he has taken throughout his
> travels. Please inform him that as a professional photographer he has to pay
> a photography fee of RM500 per camera to do photography in the Danum Valley
> Conservation Area (DVCA). This fee is not imposed by us, but by the Danum
> Valley Management Committee (DVMC) under Yayasan Sabah. It will go towards
> the conservation fund of the DVCA. He can pay this fee directly at our Lahad
> Datu office, or the Danum Valley Field Centre office in Lahad Datu town
> (just next door to BNT LDU office). Please inform Mr Jones of this fee.
>
>
>
> Once again I have contacted them to let them know that I would love to make
> money out of my photographs but the cold hard reality is I would be owed
> about $300,000 dolllars for the trips that I have done to secure my library
> of photos that are on my website. So if you are heading overseas beware!
>
>
>
> So I am off to Bali next week for a wedding and I have a couple of days to
> spare for birding and would appreciate some advice from my fellow brethren
> and then too Borneo for 3 weeks chasing the Pittas of Danum Valley and the
> Hornbills at Sukau Lodge
>
> Kindest Regards
>
> Geoff Jones
>
> Barraimaging
>
> Your Non Professional Photographer
>
>
>
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