These are the secrets of the forest. Of tall trees, rare vegetation, teeming wildlife and strange creatures ensconced beneath its green canopies that only the most intrepid adventurer would stumble upon. After all, the jungle is reluctant to give up her secrets.

Of all forests, the primeval rainforest is the most imposing — stately, dense, dark green and laced with gigantic creepers (lianas) — and within its green fortress lies an immense reservoir of biodiversity.

It was English naturalist, geologist and biologist Charles Darwin who called the tropical rainforest “…one great, wild, untidy, luxuriant hothouse, made by Nature for herself.”

Yes, it’s easy to admire the greatness of nature in the rainforest. No other environment offers so much excitement, wonder and interest.

For centuries, artists and poets alike have found inspiration in the forest, and those green patches of earth are more precious today than ever.

We rely on our forests for nourishment and the air we breathe, and sadly, it’s taken great losses for some of us to realise their value. And yet for many, the forests’ intrinsic value often goes unrecognised and unappreciated.

Still, there are adventurers like Chien Chien Lee (better known as Chien Lee) who strive to uncover its secrets in the hope that the beauty and wonder of nature will get the attention they deserve, and ultimately serve as a catalyst for their protection.

Armed with a camera, he braves locations ranging from remote rainforests to accessible parks with a courageous spirit and a heady appreciation for the unknown.

A bird flits through the green canopy and the camera follows it down. The trunk crashes through the undergrowth in a cascade of leaves and dust, which hangs like smoke in a shaft of new sunlight. For a moment the birdsong and the dry background sizzle of insects fall silent. The last leaves twirl slowly earthward.