Fire dance, a photo from East New Britain, East

Photographer's Note

Back to when I lived in Papua New Guinea and not one of my best photos but one of interest.
As you did in PNG at the time a group of us rented an old cargo DC3 for the weekend and flew to East New Britain and Rabaul.
On one our nights there we visited the village of Baining where they were having a fire dance. The fire dances were about fertility.
Unlike elsewhere the dancers dance in the middle of the flames after getting a little high chewing a local substance. They wear big masks and hold a snake - the snake representing the "midnight snake". You should be able to work out what that refers to.
Please forgive all the noise as it was taken with my little old Olympus Pen half frame and scanned from a slide and taken hand held at night.

papagolf21, holmertz, bertolucci, Royaldevon has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Nicou (193806) 2020-02-29 20:59

Hello

quel tableau et vue la magie de feu des flamme de la chaleur de ces couleurs quelle images avec cette tête cette silhouette abstraite cette forme superbe
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

papagolf21 (152605) 2020-02-29 23:35

Bonjour, cher Ian,
Cette prise de vue me fait penser à la la danse du feu musique manuel de Falla !
Quel spectacle, j'imagine ce que l'on doit ressentir sur place.
Unique !
Amitiés.
Philippe

emka (153414) 2020-02-29 23:45

Hello Ian, Interesting that you lived in Papua New Guinea in your youth. The dancers are not well seen, just the shape, never mind. What memories you have! The colors of the fire are spectacular. Almost half a century old picture. Amazing. Papua New Guinea is not so far from Australia but very far thinking about the culture.
Kind regards MAlgo

Silvio1953 (208597) 2020-03-01 1:03

Ciao Ian, fantastic fire dance, wonderful colors, excellent exposure and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

holmertz (94686) 2020-03-01 2:11

Hello Ian,
Although not very good in the usual sense, this conveys an amazing atmosphere of a ritual that probably not so many outsiders have experienced. The blur and noise and partly strong overexposure has made this look more like a painting than a photo. You were aware of the contrasts between the brightness of the fire and the darkness of the night, but did you notice the perfect diagonal made by the flames? This turned into a probably unintended work of art. ;-)
Regards,
Gert

bertolucci (14052) 2020-03-01 3:13

Hi Ian, That's a delightfully psychedelic take on the traditional Papua New Guinea fire dance. Great stuff ! Take care, Bert.

Royaldevon (78332) 2020-03-01 3:53

Hello Ian,

THis is one of those photographs that are almost abstract and yet carry so much feeling, so much emotion! The fire so bright and feathered, makes a strong diagonal, whilst in the dark triangle, there are weird shapes, one like a skull!
The fact that these dancers were high on substances links perfectly with the grotesque images that seem to be perceived.

You must have loved this, as teenagers!

Have a good day,
Bev :-)

GyurMaster (22206) 2020-03-01 12:46

Hello Ian,

The figure looks like an alien. My other guess was that it is a psychedelic-painting. Of course as Gert noted, it has an atmosphere. :)

Best Wishes,
Gy.

Tue (84016) 2020-03-01 13:36

Hello Ian,
The picture is pretty grainy, but of course it's an old shot and it also creates a very special mood here with the large fire and the dancing figure behind it. Well done.
Lars

SteveH (8074) 2020-03-02 22:52

Hi Ian, I can easily forgive the pixelated graininess, having done enough scanning of old slides to know how difficult it can be. An intriguing and captivating image. cheers, Steve

ChrisJ (162660) 2020-03-04 4:41

Hello Ian,

Technical quality is a little below your usual high standard but considering the age and analogue film nature of this shot, that's not a big deal, especially when the pixellation and motion blur of the fire add an artistic element to this shot, whether intentional or not. Tfs!