The next day, the weeping, blood encrusted wounds are vigorously scrapped with a sharp piece of timber and packed with mud from the river until, finally, the skin begins to seal and harden to form a pattern in the image of the crocodile – the most powerful and revered creature in the Sepik River………

And so it was that I tried to justify to a veteran National Geographic photographer, why I locked her out of a photo shoot I’d pre-arranged with two initiates of a crocodile scarification ceremony on the Sepik River.

Photo assignment of the highlands of Papua New Guinea and the Sepik River.

This photograph (below) marks the end of my use of 35mm film. The decision has been a long time coming but this portrait clearly demonstrated to me the versatility and superiority of a digital camera over film in low light conditions. There is simply no way film could have captured this much detail in the...

If you’re heading to the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, I’d recommend staying at Sanbis Resort (pictured below), about a 10 minute boat ride from the provincial capital, Gizo. Simple, clean, modern bungalows, stylish, boutique decore, good food and great location midway between everything you’d want to see and do in the area –...