Congratulations to AGeoJO for winning Feature Thread of the Week with 2 votes - View Previous Winners
This set is a compilation of images captured over several visits in the last few years. Unlike my post from Bromo (https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1638623, where people photography was more an afterthought, the trips I made to this wonderful island of Bali were more about capturing culture-rich Balinese people. Although religious ceremonies, dances, rituals, etc were my main goals, but there were opportunities to do some short sessions here and there. Hence the images here.
If you go to Bali, don’t expect to see these people out and about on the street unless you are lucky. In other words, this is not about street photography images. I am not sure how much it matter, if any, none of the people here are professional models; they are traditional Balinese dancers, a nurse, a TV reporter, a student, etc. Some images were captured in collaboration with a local photographer; while others were arranged by a local guide I retained.
What they were carrying on their head in several images is offering to their gods. Making offering is a significant tradition in Bali. They do it quite often, in some cases, even daily. However, the size and variety of offering do increase during religious holidays and they have plenty of such holidays there.
A little about the photography: all images were captured at location. There are two images that show the actual Holy Mountain of Bali in the background. Either flash inside a soft box or a reflector was used for fill. A flash was setup in the hut for the first image for the rim/back light. The smoke? That's real smoke from a small fire pit setup for that purpose and not from from a fog machine .
Please feel free to leave any feedback. I hope you enjoy the images and thank you for stopping by,
Joshua
I have to agree with what Bill said - the only thing more beautiful than the photographs are the people in them! My pick is the blue-hour photo or second-last image. It would help if you number these photos.
say_doyster wrote:
Stunning work. The only thing more beautiful than the photographs are the people in them. Exceptional craft/lighting/post-processing. Memorable!
Thanks for posting.
B
Thank you very much, Bill! I am happy that you like the images.
bobbytan wrote:
I have to agree with what Bill said - the only thing more beautiful than the photographs are the people in them! My pick is the blue-hour photo or second-last image. It would help if you number these photos.
I appreciate your kind words, Bobby! I forgot to number them; thank you for reminding me. I will edit the post to reflect that.
I echo Bill's statement Joshua! The women are just pure beauty!!! Your processing is just dead on!!!!! They appear 3 dimensional!!! This series is one, if not "the", of your finest!!!!
Dan
AGeoJO wrote:
Thank you very much, Bill! I am happy that you like the images.
They are not kind words alone. Since I know how hard it is to create this level of photography, my comments reflect a reverence for the craft and your mastery of it. Clearly, at least in my opinion, there is a level of pre-visualization that occurred as you planned the various shooting sessions. There is clearly a rapport with the models and a sense of the culture. These are not "photographic" craft items, but are essential to create on this level when you have the "real craft" skills to execute photographically.
Not to make too sweeping a generalization, but the direction that "photography" is going seems to be that "AI" can somehow replace all the skills that are important and not just the photographic ones with the fancy software lighting (post-capture) and "plumped-up" colors that cell phone cameras produce.
For those that may want to jump in, I put photography in quotes the first time to represent the - literally billions of photos taken and uploaded every day - that are the obsession of so many (within their private groups). Because of this endless stream, photography of this caliber (AGeoJO and many others on this forum)) often gets lost in the mix and I lament this. Just my two cents.
Danpbphoto wrote:
I echo Bill's statement Joshua! The women are just pure beauty!!! Your processing is just dead on!!!!! They appear 3 dimensional!!! This series is one, if not "the", of your finest!!!!
Dan
say_doyster wrote:
They are not kind words alone. Since I know how hard it is to create this level of photography, my comments reflect a reverence for the craft and your mastery of it. Clearly, at least in my opinion, there is a level of pre-visualization that occurred as you planned the various shooting sessions. There is clearly a rapport with the models and a sense of the culture. These are not "photographic" craft items, but are essential to create on this level when you have the "real craft" skills to execute photographically.
Not to make too sweeping a generalization, but the direction that "photography" is going seems to be that "AI" can somehow replace all the skills that are important and not just the photographic ones with the fancy software lighting (post-capture) and "plumped-up" colors that cell phone cameras produce.
For those that may want to jump in, I put photography in quotes the first time to represent the - literally billions of photos taken and uploaded every day - that are the obsession of so many (within their private groups). Because of this endless stream, photography of this caliber (AGeoJO and many others on this forum)) often gets lost in the mix and I lament this. Just my two cents.
Bill,
Yes, we planned the concepts before hand and then we let our artsy-fartsy blood flow for the execution. A few times and actually, more often than not, we deviate a little from the concept and the good thing is, we are doing photography for own pleasure and not to meet certain criteria or to satisfy a client. I solicited feedback from the models since I am not familiar with the intricacies of their culture.
Joshua what a beautiful set of images, you did a wonderful job of capturing the energy of your subjects. Great use of light your images all have a beautiful 3D quality to them.
AGeoJO wrote:
Bill,
Yes, we planned the concepts before hand and then we let our artsy-fartsy blood flow for the execution. A few times and actually, more often than not, we deviate a little from the concept and the good thing is, we are doing photography for own pleasure and not to meet certain criteria or to satisfy a client. I solicited feedback from the models since I am not familiar with the intricacies of their culture.
Thank you very much,
Joshua
Thanks for the feedback - FYI, commercial sessions often end up deviating a bit from initial concept too. First, shoot the intended idea and then allow the creative energy to build/deviate from that concept as the shoot unfolds and circumstances/ideas flow in other directions. The pick is made in the relative calm of the days that follow.
Joshua, I keep looking at these beautiful images/women and see something I missed in past views! These are just exceptional images! They make me want to talk to the women, laugh with them, hear their soft voices...... Wow!!
Dan
Beautiful images, especially #1 and #5. Would have preferred "real life" photos though rather than staged ones. Ubud and Besakih have so much to offer.
Danpbphoto wrote:
Joshua, I keep looking at these beautiful images/women and see something I missed in past views! These are just exceptional images! They make me want to talk to the women, laugh with them, hear their soft voices...... Wow!!
Dan
Dan, thank you very much! I am very flattered that you like the images and the people in them .
Dave_E wrote:
Joshua what a beautiful set of images, you did a wonderful job of capturing the energy of your subjects. Great use of light your images all have a beautiful 3D quality to them.
say_doyster wrote:
Thanks for the feedback - FYI, commercial sessions often end up deviating a bit from initial concept too. First, shoot the intended idea and then allow the creative energy to build/deviate from that concept as the shoot unfolds and circumstances/ideas flow in other directions. The pick is made in the relative calm of the days that follow.
Really good job - it must have been a blast!!
Bill, thank you again! Frankly, the first image here was an afterthought and it was done at the end of the session. The model already lost a lot of her makeup, the hair was messy and her outfit was more for doing chores. She did do some chores at the river 40 feet or so away. The old lady there is the actual weaver and we used rolled up “runners” as backdrop for something else. Then the model wanted to try some weaving and she asked the old lady to show her the trick. One thing led to the other..... and voila!
.
.