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Day one March 26th
Everyone gathered at Puri Sunia at 5 pm for Introductions, pre dinner drinks and dinner. I knew immediately that we had a great group and the group dynamic over the coming week was awesome. The group was quite diverse in their knowledge and they were all very keen to learn. There was Terry Gooley and Pam Barnett from Adelaide, Joyce Rode- Bramanis from Brisbane, Geoff Cooper from Brisbane, Rob Morgan from Melbourne, Robin Gray from Melbourne and Bernie Rosser from Albury - Wodonga as well as David Metcalf (now residing in Bali) and myself. We were also accompanied for the week by the amazing team from
Take It Easy Tours. Dana (team leader) Dewi, Putu, ( the most amazing guides and interpreters) and Made, Ketut, Wayan and Wayan (our awesome team of drivers). If ever you go to Bali look them up. You will not do better!
Day Two March 27 th – Full Moon. Galungan Day
We departed from our luxurious accommodation, the Puri Sunia, to head off to Guning Kawi an ancient temple with amazing architecture and history. Along the way, however, we caught a glimpse of Mt Agung in the distance being bathed in the light of a lovely sunrise. Calls to stop echoed throughout the convoy of vehicles and we pulled over for our first impromptu shoot looking down from the highlands.
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| Rob sorting out the Graduated ND filters |
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| Bernie having a good time. |
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| Mist in the valley on the way to Guning Kawi |
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| The ever-watchful Putu looking after the group |
We finally arrived at Guning Kawi to negotiate the 300 stairs to the temple. A quick stop to photograph the rice terraces on the way down and soon we were treated to a spectacular and mystical photographic bonanza.
Some of the group were interested in HDR techniques and there were areas of the temple that were perfectly suited to this style of photography. Some nearby steps provided access to the fast flowing river below so it was tripods out and into the water to capture some silky smooth cascades.
Our amazing guides, Dewi and Putu, had carried breakfast boxes down for everyone which we enjoyed to sound of the water below. Of course if you come down 300 steps then it stands to reason that we had to climb back up 300 steps. All too soon we were gasping our way to the top to board our convoy and head to then the renowned terraced rice fields of Teggagalung. Rather than fight the crowds of tourists along the more trafficked area we slipped down into a restaurant that had views across the rice terraces away from the hustle and bustle. Very handy having local guides who know all the tricks :-)
Soon we were off to Ubud for lunch at the Indus Restaurant. Great food and great company from a top bunch of explorers and adventurers.
We arrived back at the Puri Sunia for a quick break and then it was all aboard to head to Carang Sari Village for a Odalon, a special temple ceremony. We had to don our sarongs at this satge out of respect for local customs. We were invited in behind the scenes to photograph the dancers having their makeup applied and squeezing into amazing costumes. This was the groups first real introduction to Bali culture and soon we were being treated like family. Coffee ( Bali Kopi, my favourite) was brought out and served to us as we'll as an assortment of snacks.
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| Joyce having her sarong adjusted |
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| Dana showing Robin how it's done. |
The dancers were fantastic letting the group get in for close portraits and many would get the giggles when shown their photos on the LCD screens. It was a wonderful experience for all.
Later the ceremony end dancing started and we were treated to wonderful colour and pageantry.
Day Three March 28
Next was Tirta Empal, a beautiful water temple with magnificent grounds. We entered to find a huge pond full of colorful koi. Tripods and slow shutter speeds were in order to capture the colorful trails and then we were into the temple proper.
There is a wonderful spectacle here where the people go into the water for Holy cleansing. No one is shy here and everyone captured some stunning images. One of our participants, Geoff, decided to join the throng and get wet too. A wonderful experience.
That afternoon we conducted the first review/post-processing/critique session and then headed out to photograph the duck farmers. As we wandered along the road we came across a piggery and were to add that into the afternoon agenda.
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| Why did the duck cross the road? |
Day Four March 29
A sleep in for a 7 am departure to Goa Gaja, the Elephant temple for some fine photographic opportunities and then it was off to Monkey Forest to photograph the Macaques monkeys in the early morning light. This was a trip highlight with some amazing images and some hilarious ones of Joyce, Dewi and Pamela covered in monkeys.
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| Joyce and her very friendly monkey |
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| Dewi and her very friendly monkey |
I discovered a new area ( to me) down some steps ( there are always steps ) where there was an amazing bridge, the sides of which were two huge carved dragons. Huge Komodo dragons were carved into the rocks and monkeys were swinging on vines from a huge tree growing around the bridge. This was a scene straight out of an Indiana Jones movie and I was half expecting a secret tunnel to appear if I touched the correct stones.
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| Indiana Dave |
Lunch at Clear Café and then back to Puri Sunia to download images and another review session.
we departed for Pejeng Village at 4 pm for special dance and music performance put on just for our group. Wow, wow, wow. What a night. We were all invited into the temple first for a blessing from the highest Holy Man. I felt quite humbled by this experience as we were truly welcomed into the local community.
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| What a fine looking group of adventurers and explorers! |
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| Rob getting in tight |
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| Nyoman hiding the Canon logo. He really wants a D800 :-) |
Soon enough the dancers were performing for us and what a performance. The Gamelan was first performed by the ladies of the village ( quite uncommon) and later the men had their turn. The dancing was spectacular as were the costumes but I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
A delicious feast was prepared for us by Wayan and her very talented team and then the grand finale, the Kecak Dance. To understand some of what goes on during the Kecak Dance hop onto the web and google it. Look for videos in YouTube and specifically an excerpt from the movie Baraka. Now imagine a group of children doing the same thing. They were fantastic. But unlike the movie Baraka we got the whole nine yards culminating with fighting with fire.
How no one ended up medivaced to the nearest hospital is a mystery that I will never solve. It was an amazing spectacle and one that everyone thought would be impossible to beat, but the rest of week awaited and the best was yet to come.
Day Five March 30
Another early start with a 5 am departure to Ketewel beach to photograph the sunrise and the colourful rock formations. Traffic was remarkably light and we made good time. Breakfast boxes by the sea and then off see the salt farmers of Kusumba. These people have an incredibly harsh life. They toil all day walking down the hot beach sand to the water where they fill up two huge pigskin buckets carried on their shoulders.
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| Unloading the boat. OH&S huh??? |
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| The end result of incredibly hard work |
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| Incredibly hard work!!! |
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| Joyce, Terry and Pam and an incredibly hard worker. |
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| And check out what the women have to carry. |
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| A huge basket of sand back to the beach to start the process over. |
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| I'm getting a sore back just looking at this. |
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| The evaporation trays (split and hollowed out logs) |
Apparently when full they are carrying 70 kilograms. They walk back up the beach and splash the water over hot black sand and then repeat and repeat...all day! Eventually they scrape up the salt enriched sand and go through another drawn out process to extract the salt. They were lovely people inviting us into their home giving us a first hand view of the harsh conditions they live in. Funny thing is they never stopped smiling the whole time we were there.
Another review session at the Puri Sunia revealed some terrific images were being captured by the group.
Day Six March 31st
A late 8:30am start and today we headed to the Bali Bird Park. Being a bit of a wildlife nut this was a session that I was really looking forward to, as were the group. We were not disappointed and ended up spending much longer there than planned. The birds were spectacular and the inflight show was one of the best I have ever seen. The walk-through aviaries allowed us to get up close to a variety of birds unavailable to us in AUS without having to worry about wire mesh. Most of the other aviaries had black mesh which all but disappeared when shooting through it. All in all, another brilliant session.
Lunch at The Pond, a superb restaurant in Ubud and then off to our new resort, the Puri Sebatu. The Puri Sebatu consists of individual rooms built into the side of a valley. Total privacy and spectacular views albeit with a few steps to negotiate.
That night we headed up to Kintamani for a night shoot. My trusty Photographers Ephemeris showed that we would have an (almost) full moonrise over Mt Agung at around 10:00pm. Sure enough, up she came and it was stunning. We were also playing with star trails and Milky Way sky shots and we had intended to head to a temple to demonstrate light painting techniques.
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| Looking down from Kintamani to Lake Batur and the volcanoes |
As it turned out the area we were shooting from was in the car park of a restaurant which was adorned with temple like architecture and was perfect for the light painting session. A somewhat late finish and as we were doing sunrise back up in the same spot the next morning there were sure to be a few sleepy heads.
Day Seven April 1st Last day of tour
Up at 0530 to head back to Kintamani for sunrise and fortunately no one piked out. We were presented with the best sunrise I have ever witnessed. In fact everyone in the group agreed that they had never seen anything like it. Truly, truly amazing spectacle and the perfect opportunity to demonstrate HDR ( high dynamic range) techniques.
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| Mt Batur (still active) , Mt Abung and Mt Agung |
After we had all caught our breath, high fived and generally behaved in a very silly fashion we headed into the temple at Kintamani to witness the colour and pageantry of the Galungan celebrations.
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| A very colourful welcome. |
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| Dana shows Geoff the way. |
Next it was off down to Lake Batur to photograph fisherman on the Lake and then catch a boat to Trunyan an ancient Bali Aga village.
This was downright spooky as when people pass away they are laid to rest on the ground under a sacred tree. Yep, on the ground with just a light cane tent-like structure over their bodies. They were clearly visible through this structure, but not as visible as the rows of human skulls lined up in another area. Eerie for sure!
And that was it. We headed back to the Puri Sebatu for a final review and post-processing session and then our farewell dinner.
What an amazing week it had been. Without exception, everyone on the group said that it was the best photography workshop they had ever been on. Many of the group said that the experience being exposed to the wonderful culture of the Balinese people was life changing. People say this place gets in your blood and I honestly believe it to be true. I can't wait to get back.
Please keep and eye out for new dates and details for another amazing Bali workshop in November 2013 which will include buffalo racing in rice fields and a trip to Java to climb and photograph an active volcano. Oh, and we'll be popping over to Borneo to photograph the orang-utans while we're there.
Hope you can make it.
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