Few people can claim to have spent nearly a decade and a half immersed in the heart of the rainforest, but for German explorers and photographers Dieter and Sandra Schonlau, the jungle is more than a destination—it is home. Speaking at the International Photography Festival (Xposure) 2025, Dieter Schonlau transported audiences deep into the untouched corners of the tropical rainforest in Indonesia, which are millions of years old, sharing tales of adventure, hardship, and the urgent need for conservation.
Schonlau, who candidly admitted that this was his first time delivering a lecture in English, captivated the audience with his raw and heartfelt storytelling. “My wife and I have spent a total of around 14 years in the rainforest. I’m not a biologist or a professional photographer—I’m a pastry master,” he shared with a smile. “I work eight weeks a year making marzipan, and that allows us to spend the rest of the time in the jungle.”
From his early encounters with indigenous tribes to his fascination with creatures often overlooked by others, Schonlau’s journey is one of discovery and reverence. He spoke of the rainforest’s oldest inhabitants—the leeches—describing them with unexpected fondness: “Many people don’t like them. But I really like them. They are clever and smart; they can calculate the walking speed of a mammal in a fraction of a second.”
Showing a collection of stunning images of creatures of a rainforest, Schonlau drew the audience into a world where camouflage is an art form and survival is a delicate balance between predator and prey. The images clicked by Schonlau and his wife Sandra revealed how creatures such as mantises, geckos, and spiders blend seamlessly into their surroundings, making them nearly impossible to spot. “Look at this photo. Do you see an animal? Nobody? This is a close-up—it’s a perfectly camouflaged leaf frog,” he said, pointing his laser to a photograph on screen.
Talking about one of the most poignant moments in his life, Schonlau recounted a once-in-a-lifetime experience with a wild orangutan mother and her baby in the Sumatran rainforest. “We were 45 metres high on our platform when we saw them in a nearby tree. She looked at us, and she trusted us. She lay down and fell asleep. The baby watched us for a while and then fell asleep too. We stayed there the whole night. We knew we would never see something like that again.”
But not all of Schonlau’s stories were idyllic. His words carried an urgent warning about the devastation of the rainforest. “Every year, we see the destruction getting closer. A thousand-year-old rainforest is cut down for palm oil plantations. Palm oil is in nearly 60–70% of products in supermarkets. If we don’t stop, in 20 years, that young orangutan I photographed will grow up and never find a rainforest again.”
Schonlau has worked closely with the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) for over 12 years, supporting efforts to rescue and rehabilitate displaced and injured orangutans. He showed the audience heartbreaking footage of a male orangutan who, only a year before, had a thriving habitat but now it has turned into a barren wasteland. “He tried to go back to his home, but it was gone. The tree came down, and we rescued him. But for him, it was too late. He was too weak. He died.”
Despite the grim reality around him, Schonlau remains hopeful that awareness and action can bring change. “This forest we are looking at is more than 120 million years old. I hope that in the future, we will still hear the call of the orangutan echoing through the trees.”
Xposure 2025 has brought more than 300 world renowned photographers to our shores in the UAE, where each artist is not only eager to share their work but also their knowledge, experience, and a treasure trove of stories leading to their work.
The free to attend event is taking place at Aljada, Sharjah, and will run until February 26. For more details, visit, www.xposure.net.
