See them all at once
Look at thumbnails of all
the photographs from this country.
Each picture was made with the Agfa
ePhoto 1280 digital camera.
Cremation Ceremony,
Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
Does somebody smell smoke? chronicles
my first dip into traditional Balinese culture, a cremation ceremony in
a local village.
CremationFire
CremationBull
CremationProcession
Tana Lot, Bali, Indonesia
One of Bali's most revered religious locations Tana Lot is also a huge
tourist draw. With the temple perched on a tiny island, it makes a picturesqe
sunset location, which is fully exploited by the local vendors, who have
colonized a nearby cliff and filled it with a dozen or so restaurants and
open-air pubs. Rush hour starts thirty minutes before the sun drops into
the sea, and closes fifteen minutes later when the mosquitoes swarm.
Sunset2
SurfDam
Temple
Jimbaron Bay, Kuta, Bali,
Indonesia
When 5000 U.S. Marines hit a freewheeling tourist town on the southwest
coast of a tropical Island it's usually because of some pressing military
need. The USS Bellawood was just here for a quick vacation, but ready to
assist evacuation of American Citizens if the sporadic riots in Indonesia
got any worse. The only real impact it's visit made was a large shadow
in the bay at sunset, and a number of Marines spending the evening with
the local police as their hosts.
See the story Luck drives a big boat,
to meet one Marine Seargent helping to keep the world intact.
Reflection
Sunset
USSBellawoodDeck
Wave
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Ubud is the arts center of Bali, home of painters, sculptures, musicians,
and a whole host of local artisans plying their wares to tourists and exporters
from around the world.If you visit Ubud, remember to buy anything you remotely
fancy. The quality gets no better anywhere in asia.
IdBaliUbud_
Garudacarving
Monkeygod
StoneCarving
Tampaskiring, Bali, Indonesia
Gunung Kawai is a temple a little different from the hundreds that
dot Bali. Carved out of stone from the valley of a brisk-flowing stream,
Gunung Kawai's monuments are etched out of bedrock, as opposed to built
by bricks or stone. The result is reminicint of Egyptian monuments. Surrounded
by Rice Paddy terraces and lofty palm trees, Gunung Kawai was the most
peaceful, inspirational holy monuments I visited.
Monument
RiceTerrace
RiceTerrace2
Tomb1
Batur Volcano Trek
Finding yourself astride an active volcanic ridge is a moment when
we humans realiize our relative insignificance in this world. I was having
just one of these moments, staring deep down a glowing rock sulphur vent,
when mother nature decided to emphasize my tiny priority on the planet.
When you hear of a ten second tremor shaking the ground, it might not register
fear in most people. But when it happened atop that ridge and shook my
pelvis, which was some three hours walk from any sort of road, it reinforced
the point that the earth is a big, powerful rock.
Batur most recently erupted in 1997, sending lava flows a few kilometers
down it's side, but not threatening any village. Most had moved away to
a safe distance over the several hundred years of intermittant activity.
Still, a number of locals have made Batur their marketplace. Persistant
men and boys follow each climbing party happilly offering Coke, Sprite,
even boiled eggs to the tired tourists.
Sunrise
VolcanoActive
VolcanoRestaurant
VolcanoRidge
VolcanoRidgeFog
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Antonio Maria Blanco and studio
Blanco is one of the longest-term expatriate artists residing in Bali.
Arriving in 1942, marrying a local Balinese woman, befriending Princes,
and painting in his spare time, Blanco remains one of the most colorful
characters in Ubud. He is happy it ramble on about any topic you suggest,
but usually guides the subject to one f his theories on life, love, and
the future of the world
BaliUbud_BlancoNudeRecline.jpg
IdBaliUbud_BlancoNudeStand.jpg
IdBaliUbud_BlancoPortrait.jpg
IdBaliUbud_ContrempYoung.jpg
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Funeral Preparations at my Homestay
While staying at the Brahmandya guesthouse in Ubud, the grandmother
of the host family passed away after a long illness called time. Within
two or three hours the place began to fill with villagers in bright dress
bearing offerings and manpower to complete the necessary preparations.
At the height of activity I counted over 70 people businly working. The
men concerned themselves mostly with securing raw materials, like bamboo,
coconuts, and palm fronds, to hand make both the coffin and funeral stand.
It was amazing to watch all the handwork , and detail of their movements
and creations. The women were busily making huge numbers of offerings to
the gods out of palm, rice, duck, coconut and bamboo. THis spectacle differs
quite remarkably from the funeral rituals in my town, and the sense of
community was amazing.
IdBaliUbud_FunTeam1.jpg
IdBaliUbud_FunTeam2.jpg
IdBaliUbud_FunTeam3.jpg
IdBaliUbud_FunTeam4.jpg
IdBaliUbud_FunWomen1.jpg
IdBaliUbud_FunWomen2.jpg
IdBaliUbud_FunAbst1.jpg
IdBaliUbud_FunAbst2.jpg
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Richard Winkler, painter and studio
In the historical method of becoming a successful Balinese expatriate
painter Richard Winkler moved from Stockholm Sweden, married a Javanese
woman, and settled in Ubud looking for inspiration from the local nature
and people. Winklers abstract, erotic previous work was clearly being influenced
by the new surroundings. He has chosen to experiment with traditional Balinese
topics: the jungle, workers, bathing, and marketplaces, interpreting them
in his own style. It will be interesting to see his work's development
over the following years.
IdBaliUbud_WinklerErotic.jpg
IdBaliUbud_WinklerPortrait.jpg
IdBaliUbud_WinklerProgress.jpg
IdBaliUbud_Winklerstudio.jpg
IdBaliUbud_Winklerstudio2.jpg
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Around town
Even I could sense something around Ubud that draws artist to spend
their lives there. The mood around the village is calm and happy, the weather
is temperate, even cool, and everywher the jungle and rice fields are lush,
green and inviting.
IdBaliUbud2_Bamboo.jpg
IdBaliUbud2_Garden.jpg
IdBaliUbud_BaliBabe.jpg
Id
IdBaliUbud_Ooga1.jpg
IdBaliUbud_Ooga2.jpg
Gili Trawangan, Lombok, Indonesia
Water bottle boats and Seaweed Farming
Read the story about the Water
Bottle Boats
IdLombokGili1_BoatBeach.jpg
IdLombokGili2_BoatBottles.jpg
IdLombokGili3_BoatWaterline.jpg
IdLombokGili4_Checking.jpg
IdLombokGili5_OverHarvest.jpg
IdLombokGili6_SeaweedDone.jpg
IdLombokGili_BoatBow.jpg
IdLombokGili_BoatWide.jpg
IdLombokGili_Checking3.jpg
IdLombokGili_Collecting.jpg
IdLombokGili_GrandmaHarvesting.jpg
IdLombokGili_Muscles.jpg
IdLombokGili_Pullboat.jpg
IdLombokGili_SeaweedGirl.jpg
IdLombokGili_SeaweedGranny.jpg