by Ch’ien C. Lee Rainforest Pictures of Tropical Asia www.wildborneo.com.my
Photographed from within: a new perspective on the giant Rafflesia flower.
With a color resembling rotting flesh and a fetid odor to match, this enormous bloom (Rafflesia tuan-mudae) reaches up to a meter in diameter and entices flies into the recesses of its interior where they will serve as unwitting pollinators. It has no leaves, stems, or roots of its own, and as a parasite it relies completely on its host vine (Tetrastigma) for nutrition.
Photo info: Nikon D2x, 10.5mm f/2.8 fisheye lens | 8.0 sec, f/11, ISO 100
With a background in biology and environmental education, wildlife photographer Ch’ien Lee made the move from California to Kuching in 1996, fulfilling a life-long dream of living in the tropics. His images of Southeast Asian nature have been widely published internationally and he continually strives to use imagery as a means of raising awareness about the astounding flora and fauna that we share this planet with.