Fires of eternity, a photo from Bali, Nusa Tenggara

Photographer's Note

While in Bali we watched a cremation ceremony in a village near Ubud. While we thought that it might have been a tourist affair, in fact it was the funeral ceremony for two village chiefs, and while there were several tourists in attendance, it was a real affair. The peole's importance can be assesed by the use of the bull sculpture to cover the coffin, as the bull is considered a poweful animal.

*** As pointed out by David, there is a smudge on the upper part of the mans turban. I have posted the original as a workshop to show why I cloned it out.

ndb1958, Angelillo, euryan, lestans, john_c, noborders has marked this note useful

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ndb1958 (9289) 2007-08-26 2:05

Hi Daniel,
a very beautiful image of the cremation. I like your composition with the focus on this guy. I think there is a lot of ambivalence in his eyes, the smile and if I see right there are tears in his eyes. Kind of touching.
Nice capture,
Nino

vincent24 (9052) 2007-08-26 2:16

Salut Daniel,
Pas facile de photographier une telle ceremonie,le gars ne semble pas derangé au contraire!le petit coup de flash et parfait pour bien eclairer son visage,les rayons de lumiere materialisé par la fumée donne un coté spirituel a l'image...bien joué,
bon dimanche,
vincent

cessy (13647) 2007-08-26 2:21

wow.. nice capture of this ngaben ceremony
the fires in the background, and the smoke. just the portrait with happy man maybe not really fit with the 'funeral' atmosphere :), but I like his smile

wolf38 (28146) 2007-08-26 2:48

Hallo daniel. Auch Dein heutiges Photo ist wieder wundervoll. Es zeigt eine Vund einen lachenden Mann. Wirklich ein Gegensatz. Insgesamt hervorragend komponiert und sehenswert. Sehr schön. viele Grüße, Wolfgang.

atlantida (2323) 2007-08-26 3:00

This photo gave a big smile on my face, look at him how happy he is, I'm not sure why he is so happy since there is a cremation ceremony going on, but different people-different customs right:) I find it contradictory and very very interesting and kinda reminds me of me when I feel laughing in some situations which most people find sad or not appropriate for laughing:)

MiguelP (14464) 2007-08-26 3:12

Caramba, pues parece que a este chico le hace gracia lo del entierro. Me gusta mucho el punto de vista de esta foto, la composición dejando al muchacho en primer término y las llamas en segundo. Bonito país Indonesia, tengo ganas de visitarlo. Saludos.
Miguel

Iva_R (1352) 2007-08-26 4:53

Bonjour,
Entre la composition, la lumière et le sujet, tout me semble vraiment bien senti et fait de cette photo une très belle photo à mes yeux. J'aime beaucoup!
Au plaisir
Iva

MarcT (20946) 2007-08-26 5:09

Beau portrait d'un homme dont ne sait pas s'il rit ou s'il pleure sans avoir lu ton explication.

dvlazar (6644) 2007-08-26 6:27 [Comment]

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vapours (8258) 2007-08-26 6:33

Hey mate,

Quite an eye catching photograph here, fire always does a good job of grabbing attention, but the way the flash has brought the guy in the foreground out also looks great.

anducina (8407) 2007-08-26 6:56

Excellently captured scene, I like the portrait of the man on the FG and the funeral ceremony on the nicely blurred BG.

TFS,

Andreea

KostasKon (0) 2007-08-26 10:32

Very good photo.
The POV is perfect, the colors are excellent and the sharpness is great. The expression of the man is very good.
Congratulations!!!
Kostas.

Scharan (14144) 2007-08-26 10:58

Olá Daniel!

Você flagrou um belo sorriso do rapaz...ótima expressão, boa nitidez, brilho e luz. Bonita composição e cores; ficou bonito o efeito do fogo e da fumaça ao fundo.
Grande abraço,
Vera.

Angelillo (9322) 2007-08-26 15:01

Hola Daniel,

Interesante nota que acompaña una foto llena de contrastes. Es extraña y atractiva esta combinación, el fuego devorador y esta sonrisa alegre en primer plano, con muy buena luz. Es realmente una imagen llamativa. El gesto de este chico es impresionante!

Un saludo,
Angel.

euryan (8432) 2007-08-26 19:55

Excellent use of flash Daniel. I love the composition with the man and the flames on either side of the photo both demanding our attention. The smoke has created an interesting effect with the sun shinning through it. The exposure is perfect all around as well. Nice work.
Regards,
Ryan

barrufeto_77 (28876) 2007-08-26 22:49

Hola Daniel.

Una definición impresionante para las diferentes luces que había en la foto...un gran trabajo sin duda.

Un saludo, Oscar
PD: Si, si, el pueblo era de la familia...siento no extenderme más pero el primer día de trabajo es..arggggg

banyanman (7772) 2007-08-26 23:38

A wonderfully atmospheric shot, Daniel, superbly executed with the fill flash to provide excellent exposure and sharpness of the man in foreground, and with the background just in focus enough for us to get a sense of the ceremony. In some countries funerals are very sombre affairs, whilst in others it is a more celebratory event with the belief that they seeing people off to the 'next life'. Here it seems to be in the latter category. Cheers . . . David

WepWaWet (3780) 2007-08-27 1:46

Hello Daniel,
An excellent composition. Perfect portrait with a beautiful smile of the youngster. Very godd brightness and light. The effect of the fire and smoke was pretty. Regards,
Seref

sebinho342 (19317) 2007-08-27 4:44

Salut Daniel, c'est un clinic sur la gestion de la lumière que tu nous propose là !! C'est dingue comme c'est bien géré, pourtant y avait de quoi se planter et se confronter a qq difficultés.
L'usage ici est une excellente chose pour bien capter et faire ressortir ce visage au premier plan, ça te permet d'etre cool pour l'arriere plan avec 200 ISO 1/200 sec, un p'tit bokeh à F5.6, nickel, très bon reglage ... enfin je dis ça, c'est vu le résultat final !! ;))
Terrible photo

lestans (16770) 2007-08-27 9:35

Hi Daniel! Interesting shot! An important funeral in Bali.
And what a strange mood in the young man's face: is he smiling or crying? Or both?
Livia

Bluejeans (64211) 2007-08-27 15:16

Ola Daniel que bela composição ficou fantastico este homem do lado direito bonito sorriso , gosti do fogo do lado esquerdo , boa luz bom enquadramento da foto , parabens!!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

john_c (24662) 2007-08-28 10:33

Hi Daniel,
The fiery mass on the left nicely balances the relaxed pose of the fellow on the right. I like the way the drifting smoke gives special ambience here. You certainly were pressent at the decisive moment for this cremation ceremony. Very effective work.
John

ninaL (21340) 2007-08-28 11:50

Bonjour, Daniel.
J'aime beaucoup ta série de l'Indonésie.
Celle-ci est particulièrement belle.
Le sourire de l'homme est magnifique et les éléments de l'image s'agencent de façon très subtile.
Amitiés, Grazyna.

guillaumejm (0) 2007-08-28 12:59

Bonjour daniel,
un très joli contraste entre les 3 plans principaux de cette photo. Une très belle mise au point.
Amicalement
JMarc

noborders (1010) 2007-09-07 6:06

The foreground as well as the background are great to watch, this is an amazing photo,
Congratulations !
Cath.