It seems like only yesterday that I headed out into the unknown to find Dutchman Max Ammer on his lonely island in the middle of nowhere. It was Kri, in the Dampier Strait, and no-one had heard of it.
The archipelago of Raja Ampat is at 0° latitude in the remote region of West Papua.
It was just getting discovered by the diving fraternity a decade ago and experts were declaring that it had the richest reefs of anywhere in the world.
I was invited to write a feature by a diving tour company that wanted to go into business with Max, with a view to developing his self-built eco-resort, but on reflection Max preferred to keep things as they were – unspoiled.
Raja Ampat is difficult to get to, involving several long-haul flights, journeys
in smaller planes and the final leg by boat, but the word had got out, and liveaboard operators in the region were not to be stopped.
Now there are many ways to stay there, and resorts are being built on other islands, too.
Underwater photographers flocked there as Raja Ampat became the latest byword in places to get images of the weird and wonderful.
This book is a collection of pictures made by 17 underwater photographers with heady reputations, including the likes of David Doubilet, Gerry Allen, Larry Tackett, Mark Strickland and Roger Steene, and they all tell you a little about themselves before their own chosen collection of work is displayed.
There is also a commentary by numerous experts, including Max Ammer himself.
The book is non-profit and the funds go towards marine projects in Raja Ampat. The photographers have given their work for free.
Ichthyologist Gerry Allen has identified more than 1320 species of fish in the immediate area around Max’s island base, but you probably won’t find anything among the rock islands of Raja Ampat that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. It is simply the profusion and number of animals that hits you while you’re there.
Wobbegongs are ubiquitous. You’ll be photographing one of these large carpet sharks as another settles down next to you.
Smaller animals are there by the bucket-load. Manta rays come in flocks, and there is everything from the tiniest pygmy seahorse to the occasional sperm whale. You sometimes need to wave fish out of the way of your lens to get a shot of something else.
The beautiful pictures in this lushly produced 28 x 25cm tome reflect this, and make it a great aide memoire for anyone who has been to Raja Ampat, and a seductive reason to book a trip there if you haven’t.
John Bantin
Conservation International & The Raja Ampat Research & Conservation Centre
ISBN 9789081485319, order direct from uk@rajaampatdiving.com
Hardback, 288pp, £40
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