251980 Osa Johnson Filming at the Botanical Gardens in Singapore 1920
This is one of hundreds of portraits Martin made of Osa...she was his favorite film subject for 26 years.
Expedition Background:
Without returning home from their trip to the South Seas in
1919, Martin + Osa Johnson traveled to North Borneo in February of 1920 to film
wild animals. Landing in April, and spending a few weeks in the town of
Sandakan planning and getting permissions, the Johnson’s first “wildlife movie”
expedition was finally being realized. With few roads they traveled up river in
gobangs (canoes) to reach the island’s interior. At the headwaters of North
Borneo’s largest river, the Kinabatangan, they visited the Tenggara people,
filming and photographing their centuries old customs. Martin + Osa traveled
420 miles up river before turning back for Sandakan.
The
constant rain and thick jungle canopy was a difficult challenge for Martin and
Osa, who had never attempted wildlife photography before. Along the coastal
lowlands around the city of Sandakan they were able to film elephants, buffalo
and other animals. The result of their efforts was the movie “Jungle
Adventures,” which premiered in September 1921 to glowing reviews. The quality and commercial success of this
film is what first drew the attention of Carl Akeley and the American Museum of
Natural History to their work, and a budding partnership was in the works that
changed the trajectory of their career and set them on their path to the African
continent that would be their only real “home” for the next 15 years.
Leaving Sandakan in July, they voyaged to Singapore, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and southern India, then continued west circumnavigating the globe. The Johnsons finally arrived home to Kansas nearly two years after they had left.
We have over 20,000 images available for review in our
Safari Museum Expedition & Exhibition Image Gallery.
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