Travel Photography | Once Upon a Time in Kota Belud Sabah

© 2013 Wazari Wazir | Suspension Bridge at Kota Belud Sabah Against Mount Kinabalu

I’ve always dreamed of taking this kind of a picture since I saw Mount Kinabalu few years ago. A photograph of a person crossing a suspension bridge with Mount Kinabalu in the background. Yes, there is a lot of suspension bridge crossing the river all across Sabah but finding the right one can be quite tricky since some of them can’t be seen from the main road. You need to look deeper.

With the help of my Sabahan friends, Azman Jumat, Shukur Jahar and Rade Knoxville, finally I manage to get what I’m looking for. Even though the lighting wasn’t so great that particular day, I’m quite happy because finally I found something that I’ve been looking for. It is a matter of going back few times here and hoping to get the best moment with the perfect lighting.

I think the best time to be here is somewhere around 5 AM to 6 AM depending on what you are looking for. I’m talking about a silhouette of a person crossing the bridge against the Mount Kinabalu with the sunrise behind the mountain. I think depending on the time of the year, you can see the sunrise, as early as 5:15 AM to 5:30 AM and with the right composition, you will get a beautiful picture.

According to the local here, people cross the suspension bridge as early as 4 AM to do their business. There is a beautiful rice field at the end of the suspension bridge where the person is heading. If you wanted to captured a light trail of a torchlight carried by a person crossing the suspension bridge, you need to be here early.

Kota Belud town is located at approximately 60 KM from Kota Kinabalu Sabah, depending on the road condition, you can get here in about an hour or more but in less than two hours, you should be here.

The best time to get a clear view of Mount Kinabalu is before 10 AM in the morning, most of the times, after 10 AM, the cloud will cover most part of the mountain. But if you wanted to get a golden light, a warmth light, or to get a beautiful sunrise behind the mountain, then you better stay one night in Kota Belud, because the best time to get the sunrise is before 6 AM.

Once you find the right place, all you have to do is just find the right composition to your taste, wait for the right person or subject to cross the suspension bridge, the you have a picture postcard quality.

I never get the moment that I really want but then, I can always come back here for more. If I’m not photographing, spending my time here watching  the worlds goes by is good enough already.