Krzysztof Filla   Photo Gallery

Photograps 2020

It was my second time, when I put my foot on the Malaysian continental soil, after being there 10 years before. It was a very short visit, transit between Thailand and Sumatra, the place I had to apply for Indonesian visa. I stopped in a few places which I had visited before and the transformation, I saw, was intriguing and astonishing. Many places resembled a huge building sites, especially the capital of Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur. The city is not only expanding horizontally but also vertically, climbing up to the sky, with new skyscraper popping up like mushrooms. A new building is under construction called Merdeka 118, that is going to be the second tallest in the world and will dwarf the landmark of Kuala Lumpur the Petronas twin towers, until the year 2004 the highest on the globe. The economic prosperity of Malaysia has its never ending, negative impact on the natural world. With new roads, new tall building estates, new hotels, new plantations and so on, that replace the natural habitats, sending more and more species into oblivion and extinction.
Malaysia in a similar way as its neighbour - Singapore, is a melting pot of different nations, with 3 major groups: Malay 69%, Chinese 23% and Indian 7%. This blend of multi-ethnicity creates a unique, coherent and functioning society with freedom of religion and notion. This state of things gives an opportunity to a traveller to admire the diversity of life and indulge in the richness of multiple cuisines (even vegan).

Photograps 2014

The main purpose of my expedition to Malaysia was to learn about the Rain Forest and photograph its nature Borneo. But as the saying goes 'the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry' so was mine. One of my prime destination was Danum Valley where I was to spend about 2 weeks but as a matter of fact I spent only 3 days. The main reason was pricing that I found out only after arriving there. But the major problem that changed my itinerary occurred after a bite from a mosquito called Aedes Aegypti which is the vector of Dengue fever. When the fever finally subsided then there was a very long period of convalescence.

Photograps 2010

The journey to Malaysia in the year 2010, was my first travel to South East Asia. It included both the continental part (The Malay peninsula) and the two states on the island of Borneo (Sabah and Sarawak). Except the cultural aspects of the voyage, I was interested in seeing the ancient equatorial forests which so far I had only seen in films or on the pages of magazines such as National-Geographic. The impression, they made on me, was only comparable with the highest mountains on Earth – the Himalayas. The journey to Malaysia opened a new chapter in my traveling and ever since I try to go to the regions possessing the remnants of the primary rainforest. The truth is, that there are not many tropical forests left untouched or altered by humans. Being in those magical places is like time traveling to the prehistoric times. Photography gives me the chance of capturing something that in the long or short term the future generations may not witness. The pure beauty of those jungles and ubiquitous devastation were the incentive to launch my project that commenced in full swing only in 2018.