Galaxy Z Fold4 Photography at Sarawak UNESCO Caves
One of the things that I have always wanted to do with a smartphone is take it to one of Malaysia’s caves and try some smartphone photography.
Well, my wish came true as I managed to try the Galaxy Z Fold4 Photography at Sarawak UNESCO Caves of Mulu National Park and Niah National Park in September 2022.
Galaxy Z Fold4 Photography at Sarawak UNESCO Caves
First, the Galaxy Z Fold4 has been known to be a business phone due to the folding screen, and no one imagined that it was also packed with a powerful camera system.
I love challenges, and when I was told I had an exhibition spot at the Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival 2022, I wanted to make it count and be remembered as it was my first solo photography exhibition.
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My first smartphone photography exhibition was at Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival 2022. |
I’ve always wanted to exhibit my photography, and in recent years, I have been toying around with several phones for my smartphone photography in Malaysia.
Yes, you heard that, and smartphone photography is here to stay, no matter how you look at it, so I’ve had a significant headstart from the early days of the Galaxy Note 1 (Nov 2011).
Back to the Galaxy Z Fold4 review – I booked a trip to not one but two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Malaysia, the Niah National Park and Gunung Mulu National Park, both in Sarawak.
I spent five days at both national parks using my Galaxy Z Fold4 to capture as many photos as possible, ranging from landscape to macro and low-light cave photography.
What is low-light cave photography? If you have been inside a cave, you would know it is one of the most challenging places to photograph, regardless of whether you use a DSLR, Mirrorless, or smartphone.
Therefore, I tested myself to see if this could be achieved when several people told me it would not turn out nice; the photos are below.
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A closeup of my prints at the exhibition. The soft copies are featured in this article below. |
Low-light Photography with the Galaxy Z Fold4
The photos below will be placed by the names of the caves, and each of the pictures was taken with the Galaxy Z Fold4 and minimally edited before printing on photo paper for my exhibition.
These are the original soft copies, which I have resized for this article. Note my name, number, and camera used to photograph. Note: Please click on the photos to see the full-size image.
Deer Cave at Mulu National Park in Sarawak
The following four photos are taken inside the Gunung Mulu National Park Deer Cave. Please note that I used the Galaxy Z Fold4 Smartphone for all my photos below.
The Deer Cave is one of the national park’s hero caves and one of Malaysia’s most visited caves.
If you have never been to this part of Malaysia, I highly recommend it, especially if you love the outdoors, caves and plain nature.
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Water falls from the main cave chamber, around 100 meters high. |
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Exiting the main cave chamber, you will pass several waterfalls from the cave ceiling. |
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The Sarawak Chamber is the largest cave chamber in the world, inside the Deer Cave. |
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Can you spot the person wearing blue in the photo inside the Sarawak Chamber? |
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Entering the Clearwater Cave from the top. Notice the person in the photo and the bridge on top. |
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Clearwater Cave’s underground river is about 10 meters wide. I photographed it with my smartphone placed on the bridge for 7 seconds. |
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Another interesting view of the cave river. Photographed handheld for 7 seconds. |
Wind Cave at Mulu National Park
Below are four photos of the Wind Cave near the Clearwater Cave system at the Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak.
As the name says, when you reach certain parts of the cave, you feed a strong gust of cold wind that makes your hair stand. It’s a wonder how the wind travels in the caves.
The Wind Cave at Mulu tends to feature some of the best stalactites and stalagmites I have seen in this part of the world.
For some reason, I found my old article on the Wind Cave at Mulu Park from 2009; therefore, you can see some of my old photos of the caves.
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Stalactites and stalagmites joined over millions of years, some 10 meters tall. |
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The walkways inside the Lang Cave are cleverly planned, where you make a loop and exit. |
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Various angles of the stalactites and stalagmites provide exciting photography opportunities. |
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The walkways in the cave often look like an Indiana Jones movie set. |
Lang Cave at Mulu National Park
The Lang Cave is probably one of the most beautiful caves in terms of its unique formations, stalactites, and stalagmites, which have formed over millions of years.
And the fact that lights are used carefully to highlight them makes them even more beautiful to photograph.
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The reverse view cave mouth of Lang Cave at Mulu Park. |
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The unique stalactite formation looks like an alien photographed handheld in normal mode. |
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Water streaking down a stalactite and photographed in night mode on the Galaxy Z Fold4. |
Niah Caves at Niah National Park in Sarawak
The Niah Caves, located about an hour’s drive from Miri, are also being selected as another UNESCO World Heritage Site for Sarawak. This stand-alone cave is also spectacular.
The fantastic cave mouth and the fact that one of the oldest living remains of a prehistoric man in this region were found here are worth noting. You can read my 2015 article on Niah Caves in Sarawak for more. I went there unexpectedly on a quick two-hour trip.
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The main cave entrance at Niah is seen from inside the mouth. |
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A glimpse of the Trader Cave at Niah. Notice the red dot in the centre, which is a person. |
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The Niah Cave exit was taken on a reverse angle with the Galaxy Z Fold4. |
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Inside Niah, a cave opening is seen at the top. |
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That’s me, David Hogan Jr, a smartphone photographer from Malaysia. |
Conclusion
There you go, my actual photos taken with the Galaxy Z Fold4 Smartphone, and each of the images above was exhibited at the Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival 2022 from 23-25 September.
Again, thank everyone who came and supported my first solo photography exhibition. My topic for the next photo exhibition will be much more challenging. Once again, the photos you see above were taken with a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 smartphone and at two UNESCO national parks in Sarawak, Malaysia.
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