Paradise Found

Papua New Guinea. The name itself conjures up images of exotic remote islands, head hunters and cannibals. In reality it can only be summed up in two words: Paradise Found. I am still rather wordless and floating high on our PNG experience so I shall be very brief today, just checking in to say hello to you all. I promise to pen some PNG tales in the upcoming weeks, presently I am browsing through my images and am one very happy photographer. I suspect around 30 fine art images and a lot of good stock images.

Papua New Guinea is completely untouched and pristine nature and people. Extraordinarily gorgeous tropical islands, corrals, reefs, jungles, clouds, volcanoes and the most crystal clear thirty degrees Celsius warm seawater. Most of all it is the most friendly unspoiled, warm and smiling people you will ever come across and the children will melt and steal your heart. I captured hundreds of portraits and village scenes and am thrilled I really got to practice this area of photography, something I wish to excel at. I present just one in-progress image today, a charming pikinini boy from one of our village visits:

PNG-boyintree

…and even though we pale slightly in comparison, I end with the best looking Three Musketeers onboard the best looking and simply best ship, the True North. For your information I have an antenna sticking out of my head as I am always connected to the mothership. Here is True North Mark, my own self, and Christian Fletcher (and the Phase One when it was still dry!):

PNG-3-musketeers

More Papua New Guinea tales to come. Paradise Found. Must find boat to return.

24 Comments on “Paradise Found”

  1. Great word Flembot! There is something goin on with that image on the left side like it has been cut off or something??

    We had a ball out there eh mate…I am still pretty weary…but no doubt a few early nights will get me back to normal.

    1. Yeah buddy, we had so much fun, way too much fun 🙂 I am quite knackered as well, seems 5 hours of sleep every night is not quite enough 🙂

      Do you mean the image of the kid when you say the left side looks cut off? It is framed in viewfinder this way, I just cropped a bit of the top. But yes, composition with the boy in the tree proved a bit hard. Still can't get over how cute they are and those bleached afro's rock!

  2. one thing I dislike about traveling to new places, well the only thing I spose I dislike- is that your list then grows for places you want to revisit. a never ending battle and argument with one's mind as to where they wish to spend the limited time they have. you're going to be spending many many nights arguing over this I feel haha. looking forward to posts and images as they come about 🙂

    1. Stephen, my life is all travelling at the moment. Have not had my bags unpacked since leaving Chiang Mai back in January. I am constantly debating with myself (sometimes out loud, I can be a bit eccentric) where to go as the list grows longer. Not only does it include many new places, it includes places to re-visit like Namibia, PNG, Death Valley, Borneo etc. etc…..nomad's work is never done.

  3. It's not the crew from Captain Pugwash is it? I won't mention who's which character.

    I'm glad you got that impression of PNG.

    After watching many ABC documentaries over the years, mining disasters such as OK TEDI, degradation from illegal logging, planting of palm oil fields and overfishing.

    It would seem they have a great tourism asset but struggle to get the required volume of people through the door to make it sustainable, so they have to resort to other methods to generate income that are detrimental on the environment. Sounds like Australia.

    I look forward to more posts.

    1. I had to google Captain Pugwash to learn who that was but was thrilled to have confirmed that I am the most heroic 😀

      PNG suffers from bad press. Port Moresby is dodgy Mark tells me, but everywhere we went was paradise. You are right though that illegal logging and crooks in the palm oil industry are making their mark here as well, dooming this paradise found. You kinda want tourism to take off in PNG and kinda do not want it at the same time. The unspoiled islands we visited would be ruined by resorts if it was like Thailand. Many villages we visited were totally self sufficient, able to grow their own food and take care of themselves with many people still living in the bush and jungle. They really seemed to have little need for the outside world at all although of course medical problems like malaria were rife.

  4. Hi Flemming,

    That is an awesome photo of the kid. Portraits are so much fun to do and an honour I believe as you are capturing a moment in a person's life.

    It sounds like it was awesome fun and I can't wait to see more photos.

    Jamie

    1. Thanks so much Jamie, glad you like it. This one is a classic portrait style, but most of them I try to capture without the subject knowing I am there as I want a slice of their everyday life, a piece of their story and a natural look without that smiling into the camera look. But when the smile is this good, it works!

      It was toomuchfun! I am still speechless. Paradise Found.

  5. There you go with more shocking workplace pics. I reckon your office needs a roof at the very least, and how 'bout some benefits so the poor chap at the behind you musketeers can afford some shoes? 😉

    Just kidding. Like all of your other readers I'm just sitting here (at my ergonomic workstation, which is giving me acronymised aches) wishing I was sitting on a True North bulkhead, barefoot too.

    I also went and checked out True North Mark's blog and am now wishing i didn't…. makes me want to do silly things, now. Though granted, it doesn't take much provocation for me to do silly things…

    P.S. You have a stage costume I see 😀 https://flemmingbojensen.com/gallery/furtheran

    1. Haha, it seems I always wear that costume. It is a new shirt though hehe, I did actually splash out on quite a few new shirts as my entire wardrobe died in Nomad Photographer Part I.

      Silliness is good. Our office was the best in the world, True North is in a league of it's own. I only wish they served more pancakes and ice-cream and it would be just about perfect!

  6. Thanks for visiting my site Charlene…glad that I was of some inspiration to you one way or another!

    By the way True North has a 'shoes off policy' that is why the guy in the background was barefoot…we all were! 🙂

    1. When I Rule the World I shall enforce a shoes off policy in the whole world. It's just better. Socks and shoes are no good. Back to nature I say, oh and bleached afro's for everyone!

      1. shoes were handy on that rock beach, you know the one where Markie made the first lot of kids cry!

        1. yeah that rock beach demanded shoes alright, classic moment when Mark's dancing scared dozen of kids into crying and running away. Greg has the whole thing documented in plenty of stills, I am waiting for the stop motion version! I remember you scared a kid yourself Christian I even have the photo to prove it 🙂

  7. Hey Flemming, it sounds like PNG really made a huge impression on you, love the images you've posted so far, looking forward to more. You've started my feet itching, might be time to look a little closer at PNG before that tourist industry takes off, the unspoilt aspect sounds like bliss. I might be doing it in a rowboat though, don't have the budget for the True North this year.

    When you back in WA? We've got a rally for the Kimberley in Perth on the 28th Nov, will you be here for that?

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