A Fuji X-T1 In Bali | Kuningan Ceremonies & More

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

A lighter load than usual in the number of students in my class during the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Bali gave me the opportunity to photograph the various religious festivities on the island which took place at the same time.

The timing of the workshop was perfect as it coincided with Kuningan; an important religious annual event held in every temple, as the Balinese believe it's the day on which their ancestors return to heaven after visiting the earth during the preceding Galungan celebrations.

While I had also carried a Fuji X Pro-1 and a Leica M9, I used the Fuji X-T1 almost exclusively during the week-long stay in Bali. Having updated it with the new firmware v4.0, I used it with a Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 and my newly acquired Fuji XF 16-55mm f/2.8. I noticed a slight improvement in the X-T1's auto-focus speed and accuracy during my time in Bali, but I didn't purposefully test it...I just went with the flow, so to speak.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

With my friend Komang, we drove around the area of Ubud, and stopped at various temple celebrations as well as to a rather disturbing cockfight. I have photographed Balinese cockfights before, but this one was "gambling-heavy"...more than those I had witnessed before, so we didn't stay for long.

I used the Zeiss Touit 12mm quite a lot, especially amongst the crowds in the temples. Mostly shooting from the hip, I managed to capture a number of impromptu and candid scenes such as the one above of the group shooting a 'selfie', with the fellow behind them trying to avoid photo-bombing it. These are the kind of behind the scenes that I search for in such settings and events; avoiding the traditional shots of people praying and priests blessing them.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

I was also fortunate to have witnessed for the first time a number of meajar-ajar ceremonies (above) on Kusamba beach. These ceremonies are one of the many that follow cremations, during which families of the deceased will perform pilgrimages to Goa Lawah temple and Besakih mother temple to announce to the gods that the deceased souls are ready to be enshrined at their respective family temples.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

High priests (known as 'pedanda') generally officiate during temple and other religious ceremonies, and are usually assisted by a number of lay-priests known as pemangku; those are not of a Brahmin caste, but are chosen by their villages due to their piety, religious knowledge and ability to go into trance.

This female pemangku  (above) lighting incense sticks was striking because of her style and demeanor. She was clearly in her element, bossing other priests around, and laughing out aloud whenever I approached to take her photograph. While not blessing the devotees by sprinkling water with a small bamboo brush, she was busy filling small plastic bags with water and petals of flowers, presumably for offerings. I used the Fuji XF 16-55mm f/2.8 during many of these ceremonies.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Another first for me was the ceremony during which a temple's sacred objects were transported to a nearby river for purification, and although I had photographed 'odalan' ceremonies on the beaches, I had never seen one inland. The temple is question this time was Pura Desa Lan Puseh in Silungan, and had I not run out of battery power for my X-T1, I would have missed it. Returning from my hotel with my spares, we stopped at the temple which was being prepared for this ceremony.

The ritualistic purification of the temple's sacred objects was solemn and joyous at the same time. The site for the purification was about a mile from the temple itself, and a long procession formed of women carrying the various offerings, while men carried the sacred objects, carefully and lovingly wrapped in yellow cloth. 

The main characters in this procession were two Barongs; the lion-like creature in the mythology of Bali, who is the king of the spirits, leader of the hosts of good, and fighter of all evils.

Agung Parameswara | Devotion

Photo © Agung Parameswara-All Rights Reserved

Although having been both at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Bali, Agung and I haven't met...whether at the Betelnut Cafe for the events, or at the Pelangi School.

I chanced on his work during a Betelnut Cafe event where I noticed his small prints on a table. I took one, and viewed his website. It's a shame he didn't show his work of Bali and elsewhere, and nor had I had the opportunity to review his portfolio. Luckier instructors must have, and I would have loved to sit in on the review and see his new work.

One of his many compelling photo galleries is Devotion; an on-going project in monochrome which Agung describes as a personal one, and that delves in the spiritual relationship between the Balinese and their deities and ancestors. It is the element of bhakti, the devotion that Hindus have for their deities, for their way of life and their religion.

Agung Parameswara is a Bali-based freelance photographer specializing in documenting social cultural issues, delving in travel, and documentary photography. His focus is on Bali and his native Indonesia with a passion in capturing culture, folklore, lanscape, and human events in conjunction with their surroundings.

My Presentation | Foundry Photojournalism Workshop: Bali 2015

I have just returned from a wonderful two weeks in Hanoi and Bali (the latter as an instructor at the incomparable Foundry Photojournalism Workshop 2015).

Whilst I will soon write a post about my experience during the week-long workshop, I thought I'd upload the presentation I gave during one of the evening sessions at the Betelnut Cafe in Ubud. Most instructors were asked to present their work, and I chose Pulau Dewata: The Island of Gods...a collection of images made during my trips to the island.

Some students made the point to me that this presentation ought to have been shown on the first night of the workshop, as it would have helped them to choose their self-assigned photo essays. I was the only instructor to show work directly relating to Bali.

A very sensible observation, but the timing choice of the presentation was not mine to make.

Photo © Komang Windu Gunawan

Vlad Sokhin | Mozambican Witchdoctors

"Insolite" is a French word which may not have a direct equivalent in English...but it means 'unusual' or 'weird' or even 'eerie'. Photographic essays that are worthy of being 'insolite' are pure catnip for this blog.

Vlad Sokhin's Mozambican Witchdoctors is one of those.  It is said that the 70,000 traditional healers in Mozambique outnumber their 1,500 professional doctor counterparts, and are often the only ones serving its remote populations. You can also view the photo essay in a superb layout on the always interesting Maptia.

Witchdoctors are not exclusive to the African continent, but can be found all over the world. In fact, in a few days I'll be traveling to Bali and I've photographed its own brand of witchdoctors (balian) who are frequently the first to be visited by the Balinese rural population, despite the proximity of medical doctors, clinics and hospitals.

A witch doctor is a type of healer who treats ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft, and is commonly used to refer to healers, particularly in third world regions, who use traditional healing rather than contemporary medicine. 

Some are so popular and media-savvy that they use the internet, and have attractive websites, such as this one.

Vlad Sokhin is a documentary photographer, videographer and multimedia producer. He covers social, cultural, environmental, health and human rights issues around the world, including post-conflict and natural disaster zones. He worked on photo, video and radio projects, collaborating with various international media and with the United Nations and international NGOs. Vlad’s work has been exhibited and published internationally, including at Visa Pour L’Image and Head On photo festivals and in the International Herald Tribune, BBC World Service, the Guardian, National Geographic Traveler, GEO, ABC, NPR, The Atlantic, Stern, Le Monde, Paris Match, Esquire, Das Magazin, WIRE Amnesty International, Sydney Morning Herald, Marie Claire, The Global Mail, Russian Reporter and others.

He is fluent in English, Russian and Portuguese and also speaks Spanish and Tok Pisin (Papua New Guinea). He is currently also learning French and Arabic.

Hanoi & Bali | The 'What Do I Take' Phase?

In a week's time, I'll be flying to Hanoi and Bali via Hong Kong; combined flights of unfathomable duration.

The Hanoi trip is to increase my inventory of Hau Dong ceremony photographs, conduct a bunch of interviews, hold portraiture sessions with a number of Hau Dong practitioners as well as some street photography...while my trip to Bali is to join the rest of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop faculty and give a class called The Travel Documentary; Sound & Images. It seems there will be a number of temple anniversaries in Bali during the time of the workshop, so I might -time permitting- photograph during these odalans.

As I always do before such trips, I lay down the gear I envisage using during these two weeks for a few days, and reflect on what I really need to take with me and use.

So here we go:

Bottom row (left to right):

*Tascam DR-40 Recorder
Marantz PMD620 Recorder
*Elmarit 28mm f2.8
Leica M9

Middle Row (left to right)

Fujifilm X-T1 Camera/Vertical Battery Grip

Fujifilm X-Pro1

Nokton Voigtlander 40mm f1.4

Photoflex reflector

Upper Row (left to right)

*Fujinon 18-135mm f3.5-5.6

Fujinon 16-55mm f2.8

Fujinon 56mm f1.2

Zeiss 12mm f2.8

Fujinon 18mm f2.0

The gear I've marked * will probably stay behind...but I might change my mind as far as the Fujinon 18-135mm is concerned.  I recall using my Canon 70-200 lens quite often at the Balinese festivals.

Time will tell.

Cristina Venedict | The Monk

Photo © Cristina Venedict-All Rights Reserved

I know. It's been quite a while I haven't posted on this blog. This was due to unplanned personal (aka non-photo related) travel...but let me immediately jump in the fray and feature the wonderful work of Cristina Venedict, a photographer from Romania. It is not very often when a photograph makes me stop what I'm doing, and prompts me to immediately look up the rest of the photographer's work.

I chanced on Cristina's 'The Monk" which was recently recognized by ePHOTOzine as Photo of the Week. It was described by the magazine's photo editor as "this image almost looks like a painting you’d find in a gallery. It’s like stepping back in time into a long forgotten era."

And that is exactly what this photograph is all about.

I was excited at the prospect of viewing more of Cristina's similar work; perhaps made during her travels in her native Romania or nearby (these two monks are wearing the garb of Orthodox priests), and admiring her color treatment  of her photographs.

However, there were no more photographs of Orthodox priests on Cristina's website, but galleries of her lovely and stylish -but different- fashion and portrait work. Many of these are processed in muted colors to give the impression and the atmosphere that they were made eons ago.

Cristina is a self-taught photographer from Romania, and who entered the world of photography after being a psychologist.