Ibans and nets Photo

Photographer’s Note

Back with my initial project of boring you to death with my Iban stories.

Remember where we were? Ibans in remote Borneo, living in a longhouse...
A little bit of ethnology now : I didn't tell you is that Ibans belong to the generic "Dayak" tribes, which is the name for all ethnies of original Borneo inhabitants. May they be Ibans, Bidayuhs, Penans, Kenyahs, Orang Ulus, etc.

Some of the Dayaks are upriver Dayaks, others are land Dayaks or nomadic Dayaks. My good friends Ibans are called "Sea Dayaks", even though they are settling deep into the mainland, such as here because they mainly spread from coastal regions into the land boating along the rivers.

This is to say that the Ibans, as "Sea Dayaks", usually live on catching or breeding fish.
This is the case for this settlement, where the main occupation (apart from you know what...-if not see "drinking tuak" photo-) is either fishing or mending nets for the next catch.

You may also know that I've posted quite a lot of pics showing my obsession with fishing nets. This was then the right topic for me : the ibans and the nets.

The guy may not be very active, but to his credit, it was just after some tuak party. I didn't want to bother him so I shot him through his net.

BTW, don't tell me that you didn't read O'Hanlon's "into the heart of Borneo" yet...you've GOT to read this book, the most humoristic in travel/trekking litterature.

bgladman, eleparc, bfly, Curioso, RGatward, Josh69, flip89, mimi, henrye, joseelias, elena, sohrab, Bogdan, vaneiks, MLINES, Izobretenik has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

bgladman (1153) 2004-03-30 16:13

a fantastic environmental portrait Luko. Your DOF control is spot on, providing enough background detail to give a idea of place, but not enough to distract from the subject. I really like the tones and textures of this one. Top shot!

claudiaf (4404) 2004-03-30 16:30

Strange mood... He looks very sad.

torben (3084) 2004-03-30 16:35

Hah - I'll just bore back with boring comments!
The out-of-focus net in the foreground is great adding more sense of space and depth plus an interesting texture to the overall photo. The man is well placed in the frame, play of light and shadows lively and the tonal range iszzz zzzzzzz zzzz zzzzzzz ................bonk

bfly (5737) 2004-03-30 17:35

I love these Iban stories...(nothing technical..sorry)..I showed Living in a Long House to my sister in low today, who has very poor idea about photography..she asked how does that have such depth and grains at the same time ?...I told her some from your notes..and I thought this is what TE aimed at...I think this is really great..

Curioso (9115) 2004-03-30 17:42

That's a strange feeling you created. Normally, the perspective would attract our attention to the characters in the background but since they are out of focus we come back to the front character, then try to see what is looking at... May be dreaming... I don't know if it was on purpose but this play with composition and DOF is really great.

On top of that, the note is really informative ! More Iban stories !

RGatward (19737) 2004-03-30 19:25

A very remarkable image. I can't quite work out where the overlaid out of focus mottled net effect comes from, but it works brilliantly. Is this to remind us all what you can do with a proper camera?

Josh69 (1427) 2004-03-30 19:39

I like your note. The man definitely looks like he won't be moving for a while :) The effect of shooting through the net is very interesting... couldn't work out what it was at first, but it works well.

gringofil (0) 2004-03-30 21:50

Well...well...I remember an older shot of yours where you used the same technique of shooting through something, but in that shot you focused on that something instead and had the background a bit blurry. Maybe that would have been a nice choice to do here as an alternative shot to this one? Don't get me wrong, I like this image a lot, but what bothers me is the blown out part right behind your main subject (the tuak loving Iban). Kind of makes it hard to concencrate my attention on him. If the nets were in focus with everything in the background somewhat blurred (bust still sharp enough to make out some details) I think the shot would work better. I'm ranting here...anyway Luko nice piece of work, but not your best.

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henrye (3498) 2004-03-31 3:25

Very moody shot. I like the black and white. Good composition and depth in the photo. The out of focus net in the foreground doesn't bother me. Well done!

maciekda (19587) 2004-03-31 9:43

another shot from this interesting house... i really like this net you were ahooting through - the effect is really intersting. the pose of the guy is relaxed and his expression? he is somewhere else...
nice shot, very moody
i really dont know how you take pictures without autofocus, this one i can understand, but how to shoot in the street when there is no time to set all the settings manually... i'd miss all scenes.

jrzufferey (7249) 2004-03-31 12:27

Technique toujours parfaite. Je me demande comment tu as reussi à gérer de pareil façon le flou, même derrière le personnage? Bravo /jr

merpb (1970) 2004-03-31 14:49

This really reminds me of Baileys work from the 70's in this area (minus the sport shorts, the understated tones, the reflective pose and the shallow DoF create a great image.

zto (292) 2004-03-31 15:06

The net and the short DoF is what i like the best here Luko. Composition wise i know i don't have to tell you that you are doing a good job. The B&W gives the picture a sence of journalism, which is great togethre with your note. There is a lot of intresting things to discover here Luko, like the net by the door etc. I like that.

eleparc (24059) 2004-04-21 5:19

am not bored a bit luko:-)) The other shot of the same room with three or four men had more impact IMO... out of smileys now;-( good to see you back!

joseelias (367) 2004-04-21 9:01

I like a lot your option of shooting though the net as it created a very nice texture over the photo and at the same time it increased the blur in the background created by the DOF.

Also like the perspective effect and the use of BW.

sohrab (7423) 2004-05-03 13:17

hi luka
after a long time ive got time to browse through photogrpahs . i think this is a spectacular . it's good that you didnt go any closer to him.you may have lost this expression on his face. this shot is just beautiful. you use a very very nice tone on your black and white images. has got a very nostalgic touch to it.you havent lost the focus on him yet i can make out that theres a net between the guy and me and the other people in the background provide more interest to the shot.

hantulaut (3394) 2004-09-10 13:10 [Comment]

Show Comment

saurabh (104) 2004-09-13 10:19

Great composition...good choice for b/w.

For me, this image works two ways. Lengthwise, it was good to expand the pic on the right...the DoF, the matted floor, combined with the sprawled legs of your subject, adds to the langurous feel.

The depth comes from the contrast between the main subject and the fuzzy human figure in the distance.

naxius (16679) 2004-09-24 4:12

Tres belle photo en N&B et egalement tres beau temoignage avec une note, un peu longue mais instructive.
Le focus sur cet homme deriere le filet est particulierment bien maitrise.
Bravo.

Alexandre

clodreno (0) 2004-10-09 5:36

Pas grand chose à dire ici, une très belle image. Le personnage parle et voila , tout est dit..

manu_itu (305) 2004-11-24 4:52

Net and carpet pattern makes it very homogenouse yet very distinctive. Good use of DOF,Light from window and Sepia grasp the mood perfectly. Great composition. Great Picture!!

jiekuan (330) 2005-04-26 8:50

Luko, you are the man!
Nice DOF. Good B&W use here.
Background is blur and that is why it attracts viewers.

Very good photojournalism type of pic

david (3972) 2006-04-12 10:24

no new photos from you lately luko! i'm disappointed, but it's given me motivation to look through your gallery again.

this is a great shot. shooting through the net is unusual and gives the shot some interesting shades and effects. the framing of your subject is nice and i think the desaturation works well.

this shot tells a story and that makes it quite appealing. great work!

Izobretenik (1264) 2006-06-13 8:19

C'est dans ces conditions que je me rends compte que la note est capitale. Il y a sans conteste un sens artistique vraiment délicat et pudique qui se dégage et du cadrage et de la distance que tu établis avec ton sujet mais le côté documentaire de la photo dépasse ce constat premier. J'adhère complétement à ce genre de projet. Je vais rattraper tout mon retard.

Izo

oanna (1196) 2007-05-13 3:38

hello,luko,your iban has a pensive look here,even full of spleen.very good framing,light and POV,and your B&Ws are really great,beauty in the eye of the beholder:).

TFS,
oana