In 1996, while working for the Tree-Ring Laboratory at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, I went on a two-month long expedition to Indonesia. The goal of the expedition was to collect tree-ring samples as part of a project to study long-term variation in the climate of the region. Three people -- me; Paul Krusic, a consultant for the lab; and Paul's wife, Rachel -- went while Rosanne D'Arrigo, the principal investigatory, remained in New York. This photo essay is a record of my experiences while there.
This site consists of a selection of the photographs I took while traveling as well as excerpts from my field notebook. Neither are complete. Some of the photographs were either redundant or of poor quality, while some of what I wrote in the field notebook was meant for my eyes only. Still, I hope this record provides an reasonably accurate impression of what Indonesia was like in the feverish years preceeding its descent into political upheaval and violence at the close of the previous millennium.
When I started this site, I had hoped to link to Courtney Kealy's photos of New Guinea. Well, Courtney and I have both graduated from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and headed in diverse directions, but I recently discovered that she has posted her New Guinea work on her "Irian Jaya, New Guinea," photo essay. I'm jealous. I guess I'll have to find a way to get to New Guinea myself and take my own photographs!
Choose the island you'd like to see: Bali, Borneo, Java, Lombok, New Guinea, Sulawesi, Sumbawa.
Or click on the name of the island on the map below...
