fire dance Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

The Kecak dance (fire dance) is a relatively modern dance form on Bali. It concerns the fight also here between property and bad. The dance is shown with darkness. (see wikipedia.org/wiki/Kecak)
1/25 sec., ISO 1600

Vasa, plimrn, zmey, xavshot, casperduppy, mpdre, JPlumb, rigoletto, johnfreeman, gokanlam, hispic, Dpbours, Atousa, snunney, realimis, imrek, Merline, toto, Bruno40 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

messenger1 (1029) 2008-02-20 1:08

Dynamic image, full of energy. Great composition. The firelight gives it a mystical feel. Looks cool in B&w, but I wonder how it would look in color?

jimmj63 (781) 2008-02-20 1:17

spectacular image. In this shot I like the movement and the contrast of the fire with the dancers. very well done
ciao, giacomo

Vasa (5638) 2008-02-20 1:33

Danke Wolfgang,

formidable this scene of daily life in Indonesia. In b/w the dimension of the mysterious is stressed. All compliments and best wishes for spring.

Branko

plimrn (19682) 2008-02-20 3:51

Hello Wolfgang,
Impressive framing gives dynamic balance between the shadowed detail of the dancers' backs and the firelit faces. While the dancers are frozen, the delicate detail of the torchlight dances.
HLJ, Pat

John_F_Kennedy (31473) 2008-02-20 6:15

Das muss ein grandioses Erlebnis gewesen sein. Und wunderbar in Szene gesetzt.
Viele Grüße
Achim

indraajeet (1773) 2008-02-20 7:10

wonderful capture. the pov creates a very mysterious atmosphere
indrajit

manada (6237) 2008-02-20 11:11

Ciao Wolfgang
excellent shot, you perfect pov make impressive that dance.
The B/W looks very nice, like a scene of old movies.
Well done
Freddy

zmey (7250) 2008-02-20 12:38

hello there, wolfgang

an interesting cultural foto. at least i learned about the kecak dance that i was not aware of before. like the atmosphere captured with the bright fire spots everywhere. actually reminds me of ecuador new year's night when everyone's burning rag dolls representing local politicians. i know, here it's different.

my compliments and thanks for sharing
kristaps

xavshot (62533) 2008-02-20 13:07

Bonsoir Wolfgang
très belle ambiance et jolie conversion n&b. J'aime bien l'impression d'assister à la scène.
Xavier

mpdre (1587) 2008-02-20 17:39

Hi Wolfang,
Interesting capture of this modern dance...I would have thought that it was an ancestral ritual...Interesting. Love the silhouettes coming out from the darkness, just illuminated by the torches... The image of that tree covering, like un umbrella, the group of dancers is really beautiful...Excellent work!
Andre

JPlumb (3153) 2008-02-20 21:52

Hi Wolfgang, nice capture of the dance. The lighting, by firelight adds a special interest to this one. THe detail is good with this light with good stopped motion of the dance. There's a grain to the shot, but in this case it works. It reminds me of an older high ISO, low light film shot. Your position behind the one group of dancers, but catching the front of the other group puts us right into the action.

Thanks, John

Tobias__Ortmann (2589) 2008-02-21 7:45

Hi super Bild wolf
vorallem schaffst du in diesen Bild eine super atmosphäre trozt schwarz weiß was wiederum sehr gut passt
wenn man das Bild sieht denkt man mann wäre auch bei diesen Fest
gute gemacht
grüße Toba

rigoletto (26326) 2008-02-21 13:41

Hi Wolfgang,
Superb photo with the B&W idea, and the layers of depth are very interesting. I love the observation of this moment. Great composition too. TFS,
Deniz

johnfreeman (2222) 2008-02-22 3:12

Hi Wolfgang,
What a dramatic shot! I particularly like your low viewpoint and the contrast between the darker area of dancers on the left and those in the light on the right, making their semicircular arrangement clear even from the side. The fact that all the dancers appear to be focused on a point just outside the frame on the right also creates a strong sense of direction and dynamism.
It was clearly a good decision to use B&W. Apart from the inevitable small amount of noise in the midtones, the dynamic range is superb, from the white areas of the torches to the almost black figures on the left which are defined by their contours in the firelight.
Very well done!
John

gokanlam (6429) 2008-02-22 8:14

Hi Wolfgang,
Very nice moment.. Your presentation is great in B&W.. Very different kind of dance.. Thanks for sharing..
ReLa

Flavia (10202) 2008-02-22 19:02

Hi Wolfgang,

Lovelly atmosphere. A difficult shot to make because of the light conditions, but you managed well with the high ISO. Quite grainy, but I like grain!

Cheers,

Flavia

hispic (7399) 2008-02-23 2:20

Hello Wolfgang,
Impressive image!
Captured the wavering of the flames with appropriate shutter speed, and also the people amusing themselves in festival with great composition.
Have a nice weekend, Hisashi

Buin (37756) 2008-02-24 0:24

Hallo Wolfgang!
Ein wirklich faszinierendes Foto, das eine ganz besondere Stimmung "rüberbringt" -etwas gespenstisch -, die durch die Schwarz/weiß-Fassung noch verstärkt wird. Ein ganz besonderes Foto, wie man es nicht allzu oft zu sehen bekommt. Hut ab!
Einen schönen Sonntag nach Nordhessen!
Frank

Dpbours (220) 2008-02-24 7:07

Hello Wolfgang,

That's just wonderful! The B/W captures the atmosphere really nicely! Haha, at first I thought you had written 'the becak dance', and I was thinking you must be joking! :-) But it's 'kecak'. And exorcism dance. Interesting!

Greetings,
Dennis

devimeuxbe (55867) 2008-02-24 8:23

Hi Wolfgang
this picture is amazing. The light is very well managed, the scene is interesting. It's not easy to manage such contrasting light.
Excellent
Bertrand

ryno (4617) 2008-02-24 10:14

Hi Wolfgang, what I particularly like about this shot is that even though it was made in the dark, the shapes of the dancers are still well-defined and the detail is still visible. The ghostly tree branches are similarly defined and add much to the photo. Sharp and clear, an excellent composition.
Regards,
Ryno

MarcT (21099) 2008-02-24 22:25

Hallo Wolfgang,
Wonderful result a these high Iso with the Nikon D40. The composition and the fire are giving a very special mood to your picture.
cheers
Marc

okahraman (4576) 2008-02-25 22:42

Hi Wolfgang ;

çok çok beğendim elinize sağlık

Önder Kahraman

Atousa (3434) 2008-02-26 0:09

Salam Wolfgang,
Very interesting shot indeed!..they sound to get ready for a fight!..I like the framing n the choice of black n white here..very good capture..tfs
Regards,
AtousA

snunney (34974) 2008-02-26 4:17

Hello Wolfgang,
A great atmosphere to this composition complemented by a feeling of great animation. I very much like the contrast in tones between those people in front of the fire and those behind as seen through the camera lens. The black and white treatment suits perfectly. Very good work, I like it a lot.

TGULUMSER (12514) 2008-02-27 1:41

Hello Wolfgang,
An amazing photo, just like a film scene. B&W is a good choice,
Congratulations and best regards,
Tulay

pastadog (12821) 2008-02-27 4:45

Interestingly I was looking at my old Kecak shots just a couple of days ago, so I'm glad to see this post of yours, Wolfgang. It's a very photogenic dance, and you indeed obtained a mystical shot, efficiently using B&W, also with that scattered fire greatly emphasizing the mood. Nicely composed, to see the action, also that tree back there is good in the frame. Congratulations, Daniel

realimis (820) 2008-02-27 7:01

Hello Wolfgang! You give us the opportunity through your great picture to learn more about this out of the unique for us dance! Really interesting theme and very well- composed. The black and white choice makes your picture even more impressive. In a succesfully way you trasfer a cultural habit!
Kind regards,
Rene

stego (22360) 2008-02-27 15:59

Hallo Wolfgang,
It's an impressive image, very dramatic and dynamic. You did a remarkable job with the compo and the light management in conditions that I imagine very adverse.
Bravo!
TFS, Regards, José.

kevinos (6927) 2008-02-28 2:37

Hi, Wolfgang, you have caught the action at a perfect moment and the exposure has worked out miraculously. The pattern of black and white and the perfect near silhouettes give the picture such vitality and excitement. Regards kevin

barrufeto_77 (25809) 2008-02-28 13:35

Hi Wolfgang.

It should be a lovely show this one...amazing for sure!

A really difficult picture to get I'm sure of this...

Well done!

imrek (4) 2008-02-28 23:51

Hi Wolfgang,

the B/W works really well in this scene, picture is full of power and motion...well taken!

have a nice we!

imre

king (2598) 2008-02-29 11:53

Hi Wolfgang
Beautiful well composed picture is this with the dark-lighted backs of the dancers at the left and lighter dancers at the right.
Well done.
Huub.

Merline (6578) 2008-03-01 8:30

Hello Wolf,
a very very good documentary and mood scene you captured, with many important elements, the dance, the strong lights and shadows, the fire, the movement, an interesting composition that puts the viewer very close to the happening; compliments.

Schöne Grüsse
Michèle

toto (18713) 2008-03-02 3:55

Belle photo NB de cette vdance du feu, bien fixé, bien net.
Belle douce luminosité qui permet de bien voire les flammes des torches.

Amitiés Thomas
Je reviens

ndb1958 (9248) 2008-03-02 8:45

Hi Wolfgang,
ich habe schon einige dieser Kecak Aufführungen gesehen und schau sie mir dann immer wieder an. Ich mag das sehr. Man hat das Gefühl, dass ist was ewig altes, dabei hat Walter Spiess massgeblich diesen Tanz beeinflusst.
Eine außergewöhnliche und schöne Schwarz-weiss-Aufnahme.
Gruss, Nino.

yanseiler (20) 2008-03-03 1:56

Hi Wolfgang, atmospheric shot... I wonder how it would come out taken from a closer POV, nice to discover this...

Bluejeans (32439) 2008-03-05 11:58

Ola Wolfgang
Boa escolha pelo preto e branco , ficou uma foto com grande dinamismo dado pelos archotes com fogo , parece uma cena de um filme de canibais , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

ttmhmd (203) 2008-03-11 16:13 [Comment]

Show Comment

adores (15577) 2008-03-17 19:30

Hi Wolfgang!
Very well captured, the fire, the dance. The composition is very good and B&W was a good option, I believe.I like the silhouettes of this group in foreground and I think that even the tree adds some mistery to the scene.

vapours (7913) 2008-04-14 10:58

A good shot Wolfgang it what must have been difficult lighting conditions to shoot in. The noise seems to help here with capturing some of that atmosphere..it looks very electric.

airbok (76) 2008-04-15 8:45

HELLO WOLFGANG. VERY GOOD PHOTOGRAPH. I LIKE THE LIGHTING AND THE CORNER OF RECEPTION. GOOD WORK.

HI FROM GREECE
STELIOS

coolazice (72) 2009-06-19 0:35

Wonderful capture of the moment. Pure Bali. If I have any criticism to make, it is that the contrasts in light between the foreground and background are perhaps too blunt. But great photo anyway. Well done, Wolfgang.

Bruno40 (6440) 2009-08-18 7:10

hi Wolfgang,
I remember this dance when I went to Ubud.
Great compo here, good light. You pushed to the limit the ISO and I can see some noise, bt you ad no option.
a good work
cheers
Jorge