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Le Khac Quyen
Join nature photographer Le Khac Quyen on a magical journey into the forests of Cat Tien National Park during the rainy season.
After many years of wandering and exploring the stories of the forest through my camera lens, I never cease to be amazed by the mysteries hidden beneath layers of dark green leaves. Each journey reveals new and intriguing tales, urging me to return to the wilderness time and again.
Returning to Cat Tien National Park and the Dong Nai Nature and Culture Conservation Area – the largest remaining natural forest in the Southeast region – just in time for the rainy season, the landscape boasts a fresh appearance. The ground is reddish-brown, and the new leaves are tender green, glistening under the regular late afternoon rains.
Sunrise at Cat Tien National Park
At 6 in the morning, I stroll along a beaten path, savoring the slightly chilly atmosphere typical in this old forest. Each breath and leisurely step are like slowly sipping a morning coffee to start a new day. I am ready for the first camera clicks of the day to capture the forest’s vibrant moments.
As the sun begins to rise, its soft golden rays pierce through the foliage and a symphony of “birds chirping, gibbons singing” commences. A family of buffed-cheeked Gibbons greets the new day with the voice of the father gibbon, followed by other members who weave additional notes into the melody until the mother gibbon concludes each piece with a crescendo. After a few energetic leaps and swings from branch to branch, the whole group disappears into the ancient treetops.
When the dew-laden grass is tinted gold in the sunlight, I notice a large roe deer cautiously emerging from a thicket. Its steps are hesitant, seemingly torn between advancing and stopping, with moments of stillness and vigilant eyes. During the rainy season, the grass is lush and verdant, providing ample ways for herbivores like sambar deer and gaur to graze and satiate their hunger.
As the sun reaches its zenith, its rays infiltrate the multiple layers of leaves, touching the forest floor and awakening this rich and mysterious tropical forest. Calls from ground-feeding birds echo through the forest’s far corners. Pitta, Mountain bamboo partridge, Junglefowl, and Coucal begin to tell their own tales. Visitors might hear the rustling of Junglefowls foraging for food, the regular hopping of Pittas, or the melodious songs of the white-rumped shama echoing from bamboo clusters. The intertwined canopy allows these creatures to easily hide, and in this bustling environment, sound is the most reliable cue to guide me, helping me choose angles to capture dynamic moments with my camera.
As the sun’s rays grow more intense and the shadows under the trees shorten, the forest signals that the morning’s “golden hour” for taking beautiful photos has come to an end. Animals retreat into the shade to escape the heat, and tranquility descends upon the woods.
This is a typical Southeastern forest during the rainy season, with all its bustle concentrated at dawn. When afternoon arrives, rains sweep in, washing away my footprints on the worn red soil path. The rain might last for hours or conclude at midnight. Regardless of its duration, the rain brings activity to the night, and enchants curious visitors with the stories the forest has to tell.
Night falls over the Dong Nai Nature and Culture Conservation Area
As the sunlight fades and the forest dims, the rhythm of the night begins to resonate in every corner. Hastily finishing my dinner to the soundtrack of insects and amphibians calling, I follow a path leading to a stream. There, it’s not difficult to encounter groups of insects of various shapes and colors. Gryllidaes, grasshoppers, and katydids call for their mates with sounds produced by their rapidly moving wings rubbing against each other. Cicadas emerge from the ground, hastily shedding their dull brown exoskeletons to transform into the diligent musicians of the forest.
By the stream, a few stagnant ponds that have yet to be filled by the rushing currents become ideal environments for tadpoles to thrive. Various frog species gather to mate and lay eggs. Unlike the noisy and hurried four-lined tree frogs, Helen’s tree frogs meticulously select high branches extending over the center of the ponds. They lay their eggs on leaves, waiting for the moment the tadpoles hatch and fall into the water, thus completing a secure reproduction process.
The frogs’ mating rituals attract snakes hoping to seize an opportunity for prey. Concealed and moving slowly on branches close to the water, ruby-eyed green pitvipers spend the entire night hunting, indulging in a “salty” feast that provides energy for the following week. The Malayan ground pit vipers operate differently, typically searching on the ground and preferring to stay near the trails. On rainy days, the forest path is busy with Annam chorus frogs passing by to reach their breeding grounds, offering an excellent opportunity for the predators lying in wait to strike. Some bushes by the path host groups of feeding snails, making them ideal spots for slug snakes to wander in.
At night during the rainy season, the forest exudes an extraordinary vitality. The rain wets the environment, rejuvenates the vegetation, and awakens the fierce survival instincts of the animals. The abundance of insects in the forest prompts activity among frogs and reptiles. They quickly seize the opportunity to fill their stomachs, and those who gather enough energy early initiate the battle for survival, aiming to preserve the next generation.
Contrary to the typical stillness associated with nighttime, the forest tells me a completely different story, both in rhythm and color. My seven-day trip in the rainy season, carrying a heavy load of a camera, lens, and lighting equipment, has come full circle. With joy, I conclude my journey, retelling what I heard and saw in the forest through each photograph. Farewell to the mornings with clothes dampened by mist as I crossed forest trails, and nights blindly navigating toward a stream’s edge. Nature photography encompasses emotions that are both tranquil and intense.
