Living in a LongHouse, a photo from Sarawak, East

Photographer's Note

After drinking and dancing, I wanted to show you the inside of a Iban Long House.

A Long House is the single building where the people of an Iban settlement lives, it can contain up to 50 families in one building, with as many doors inside as there are families (see doors on the right side).

This is the common lobby of the LongHouse, where everyone, human or pet, live, sing, dance and of course drink Tuak (I'm not sure pets drink Tuak though). This is also where the heads were hung and stocked (sorry eelliot305, didn't find the heads, forbidden in M'sia).
It's like a long but wide corridor, the family rooms are only used for private eating, cooking, bathing and sleeping. Only pets and unmarried young men sleep in the lobby.

Like any animist would, Ibans believe the Longhouse and the river have a soul, the windows of the lobby are the eyes of the building, they should look at the river, it would be very impolite to show the Longhouse butt to the river, wouldn't it?
Ibans are the first ethnic group of Sarawak weighing 30% of the population more than muslims for instance. Though most of them are becoming Christians (Islam is too hard for them because it wouldn't allow drinking Tuak..) the Batang Ai National Park still host some of the most traditional Iban tribes as well as wild Orang Utangs. (unfortunately I didn't see any, even after lots of tuak).

If you followed my serie you will remember the Tuak bottle (family pack) on the lower left corner, a tuak drinker leaning to wall on the left side, my colleague feathery dancer in the center and in the background a "musician" playing gongs. Right side are some pets I've never been presented too, there were also cocks and hens, but they didn't want to be in the picture.

Riz, Gael, adam, Edwin, AdrianW, eelliott305, bfly, eleparc, smael, Josh69, ianmcall, maciekda, liakoshim, thien, freddd, Darren, rabani, mcreider, padam, Curioso, Santi, kourosh, hispic, danbachmann, randompics, thebecky, jiekuan, Arusem, richtersl, DaveMacPhee, aspiringamateur, MLINES, Izobretenik, Brian has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Riz (0) 2004-03-18 16:45

great image you have here Luko- the tones are superb- and I learned something today too. thanks for sharing. bravo!

Gael (128) 2004-03-18 16:47

Beautiful picture. I like the sharpness and realism of the scene. B&W is quite good for such perspective. Quite interesting comment.

Edwin (188) 2004-03-18 16:56

A very interesting picture accompanied by an equally interesting note. Intriging subject, great choice of the wide-angle lens. Excellent work Luko!

AdrianW (2274) 2004-03-18 17:06

Great shot as usual! If possible I think I might reduce the amount of brightness on the young mans face in the middle of the shot, and possibly reduce the harsh light blooming around the board on the left - but the only way to reduce that would be to use a lower contrast film, or a little PS work. The perspective of the shot receding into the distance, and the unposed positions of the people really make the image for me. As usual your note is excellent too :-D

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eelliott305 (776) 2004-03-18 17:37

A good documentary shot. You have done a great job of catching so much detail with the light streaming in through those gaps. Your notes to this seies of shots deserve special praise. Very informative. I`m thinking you quite enjoyed the Tuak.

eleparc (24063) 2004-03-18 17:55

I like this kind of shot luko! very journalistic in a way and professional. b&w is excellent here and such a nice contrats and focus despite difficult light conditions I guess;-) very interesting note too

smael (2878) 2004-03-18 18:06

Another great BW image from you Luko!!!
The contrasts are very good, and you really
make it a "l o n g - h o u s e" in this composition!

The note is very informative!

Terje

Josh69 (1437) 2004-03-18 18:31

Another excellent picture. I can't help thinking though that I would like to know more about what is on the left of the picture... maybe by taking it about 1 metre to the right - uh, also it may have been good to remove the zipper bag on the edge; a modern bag seems out of keeping with the traditional housing.

But another excellent picture and informative note. Great in black and white too.

Midnight_sun (1941) 2004-03-18 19:47

A very natural shot, i like how no one is looking at you and how the position of the people and animals seems without order. The 21mm distortion pulls the eye into the shot a little too much for my liking, although the perspective is great. B&W was a good choice here, excellent note & shot.

ianmcall (1213) 2004-03-18 20:40

Great DOF showing a lot of life! I like the modern bag and the plastic bottle; they are evidence that this IS life in the modern world for these people, not an old picture from another era.

maciekda (19895) 2004-03-19 3:03

nice one, you managed to show the atmosphere of this long house really well, the scene is so casual, they don't pay any attention to your camera. everything is well composed - all the people, things and those dogs... very nice one, no flaws here. good stuff

clodreno (0) 2004-03-19 6:02

This is simply a "Great image". I wish it was mine... One day I really have to visit this place. By the way, do you have a picture of this house taken from the outside.. I would love to see it, as a WS may be?
The composition, the tones, the pose of the people , the dog, everything makes this shot a great one.

thien (2112) 2004-03-19 22:30

Wonderful note, Luko. Your use of lines to guide the eyes is great. Thank you for showing us a scene that might be disappearing soon and thank you for reminding me the house that I lived in the refugied camp years ago :D

Darren (6823) 2004-03-22 3:18

Hi Luko. I like this shot, but not as well as many of your others. I understand you probably shot from where you did to give an idea of how long a long house is. That part is interesting (and long), but for me, it has led to an unbalanced photo overall. For my tastes anyways, everything is too crowded on the bottom left, and there is too much space, especially on the right. Not sure if it is possible to show the length of the house without doing so, but I just wish it could have been done. I do like that with all the people (and dogs) in the shot, the only one (including the dogs) who seems to be paying attention to you at all is the boy on the right. This sort of gives a more natural "you are there" feel to the shot.

rabani (9645) 2004-03-24 2:50

Next time around, I just might do this. B/W my shots and see how it looks. Your n ote also helps a lot in getting the feel of the Long House's inside.

taivo (1843) 2004-04-18 22:50

The title is superbly displayed in this photo. It's amazing that I can look all the way into the long house and still see good details farther away. The lighting and composition make the photo complete.

kourosh (2346) 2004-05-28 8:45

very educative shot Luko. it depicts a primitive way of living. good deep DOF to show all the details in the house.
leaves me with a nostalgic feeling although i enjoy looking at it.

thebecky (688) 2004-11-24 5:12

Fantastic. I found you are featured artist today which is why I'm looking at this so late. I love daily life shots and in this you get a real idea of how people are living. Great perspective and I respect the coice of black and white in this image.

manu_itu (307) 2004-11-24 5:13 [Comment]

Show Comment

hispic (9658) 2005-01-28 20:07

Awesome point in this photo is that no one and no dog sees Luko assuming outsider. You seem to be an old member of these people.
Of course, superb lights and composition with fine sharpness.

bboss (3578) 2005-02-14 16:31

I think this is a really great shot, something in the quality of light or shape of the composition I'm not sure, I can see it as a print. Maybe because its so unlike a shot I would take, I dont know, but I do know its amazing.

keribar (43841) 2005-03-06 1:13

Hello Luko,

I just discovered this image, and I must say that I enjoyed it very much.. The Black and White really emphasizes the atmosphere, and the scene is not common for a western eye. Well done - Izzet Keribar

willy (463) 2005-06-13 11:33

Black and white was the right choice, it expresses so much more that if it would have been in color. And the perspective is so perfect. A reach and fascinating composition that says so much with lots of details.

richtersl (3546) 2005-10-20 8:40

This is fantastic. I enjoyed the short trip you took me on through your note and your photo. The B&W tones are superb.

Curioso (9271) 2006-05-20 13:28

Ok, j'ai compris pourquoi on appelait ça Long house maintenant ! J'adore cette lumière latérale qui met parfaitement en valeur ces Ibans. Je retrouve là une ambiance des photos de notre ami Flydragon. Je ne comprends toujours pas comment capturer cet effet lumineux latéral que j'adore. En tout cas, je ne me lasse pas d'essayer de le découvrir.

Après la Birmanie, tu m'as donné une autre envie : découvrir Sarawak !!! Je suis en train de lire un bouquin hillarant et dépaysant de de Redmond O'Hanlon sur les Ibans. Je crois que je vais tenter d'organiser un voyage surprise pour ma femme dans cette région qui semble magique. Mais on fera peut-être Maubeuge avant :)

MLINES (12516) 2006-06-12 19:51

Hi Luko, Excellent view of this lifestyle well composed and good note to learn about it. Thanks Murray.

Izobretenik (1268) 2006-06-13 8:19

Ah, je vois tout et je lis tout dans le désordre mais je pense que je m'en tire pas trop mal. Je vais remonter un peu dans le temps. J'aimerais connaître les conditions qui t'ont permis d'entrer dans le cadre de vie et le quotidien des gens de cette éthnie. Vraiment passionnant.

Izo

Furachan (0) 2006-11-28 21:40

Je n'ai jamais commente sur celle-ci, Luko et pourtant elle est parmi tes meilleures images. Il y a un effet de profondeur ici..epopustoufflant. Il y a aussi un aspect "ancienne gravure" qui ne me deplait pas. Mais surtout je trouve que ton utilisation du 21mm ici est magistrale - je nedevrais pas le dire mais il y a tellement d'images gachees sur TE prises, ou mal prises avec une extreme wide que, bon, je recommandreais a tous de passer par cette photo d'abord, avant de deconner...
Ciao,
Francis

AnimeshRay (9089) 2010-07-26 12:11

Amazing depth indeed. The critical sharpness of this lens has no doubt contributed to the appeal of this, but I am struck by the compositional harmony, with lines and objects placed in just the right position and perspective. The timing is impeccable, the photographer nearly invisible, as it were, to the actors here. A dramatic light as well.