Bali Photography Tour 9-13 Sep '10

[SereneXMM]

Hello Auntie Serene,
This portrait is very beautiful.. May I ask why you carry so many cameras? What is the purpose? Are you using Full frame and Crop Camera for the different shots?
Sorry, I am still a Newbie..

Hello MGohzxc, thank you for your compliment. As per Limwhow, I'm also very impressed by a young lady like you who are already into the world of photography.
Why am l using so many cameras? It is because it's ideal not to change lenses. Why? If you change lenses dust may enter your camera. As for my camera, I used my Canon 50D with my zoom lens of 70 - 300mm to shoot portrait, My Canon 5DMKII with 16 - 35mm to shoot landscape and my converted Canon 20D to shoot Infared photographs.
Yes, I'm using both full frame(5DMK2) and crop camera(50D) to shoot. I hope I've answered your questions.:think::bsmilie:

 

[speng]

My first model shoot..

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

 

[limwhow]

My first model shoot..

Nice smile!
I think she must have been amused by some good-looking chap outside the frame...:bsmilie:

OK lah, every one will have his/her first model shoot one lah...
SereneXMM and I had our firsts not long ago.

 

[limwhow]

limwhow #84
Another kind of model shot. Shooting up from the hut.
Remember our Guide Agung? He is from the caste of Kshatriya - the Generals and Warriors.
And here our Warrior is holding a brand new, top-of-the-line Nikon D700, courtesy of Adrian the General...

limwhow #85
I like the innocence of this expression.
And with such a level of purity must come a corresponding level of flawlessness of the skin.
Thus a little bit of kungfu applied, with humility.

limwhow #86
These are Commando Photographers.
No bushes, no trees, no mosquitoes, no sand flies, no jungles... nothing can stop them from shooting what they pursue.

limwhow #86a
Again, the Warrior in action.

 

[speng]

Nice smile!
I think she must have been amused by some good-looking chap outside the frame...:bsmilie:

OK lah, every one will have his/her first model shoot one lah...
SereneXMM and I had our firsts not long ago.

you are the one lor.

 

[SereneXMM]

SereneXMM #48
On our way to our next destination.

 

[limwhow]

T R A V E L O G U E

Day 3: From Tegalallang to Tirta Empul (Water Temple)

A slight change of plan brought us to Tirta Empul first to co-incide better with the lighting condition.
I am sure many would have seen pictures after pictures of this seemingly tranquil surrounding where:
a young beautiful Balinese lady half immersed in water put her palms together in deep prayer, head bowed,
while a jet of clear, cool water emerges from a sprout the shape of an ancient toad on the wall
and splashes upon her head of black shiny hair.
This is the dream picture in all our minds as we approached Tirta Empul with a sense of excitement.

Tirta Empul
The name of this temple literally came from the words Tirta, which means Water in Balinese, and Empul which means Spring.
Thus the Temple of Spring Water.
Many a devotee come from all over Bali to pray and give their offerings.
Especially young couples trying for babies.
Surprisingly we saw quite a number of ethnic Chinese devotees here immersed in the water for their turn to pray.
From the sound of their speech, it appeared that they were from perhaps, Taiwan...


limwhow #87

limwhow #88
We were hungry. And it must be my fault for I must have mentioned the word Bakso once too often, for Adrian found a stall of road-side Bakso for our lunch.
Woooaaahh! Bakso, the authentic road-side stuff!

limwhow #89
After eating, I spotted all our tripods put together on the grass and we managed to gather every one to hustle close together for a group photo - tripod style.

limwhow #90
We have only finished eating Bakso and each grabbed his/her tripod, when we looked up at the sky.
Something is not right.
The dark clouds are moving in.
Adrian's Rain luck is starting to act up again....
It is beginning to drizzle a little...
Adrian: "Guys, quickly! Let's get in first and take some shots..."
Here is just a record shot to show what one will see once entering the grounds of the temple.

 

[limwhow]

limwhow #91
It was really a good day for us to come to Tirta Empul for there was some celebration, an occasion.
There were lots of devotees, and they carried with them on their heads and in their hands baskets after baskets of offerings.
Many who have made their prayers and had blessings given by the priest in the form of sticky rice on their foreheads and temples,
walked quietly and happily out of the temple.

limwhow #92
We all stepped through the Candi Bentar and the scene in front of us opened up into one spectacular display of
devotees of different coloured attires - men and women, young and old - all kneeling and sitting cross-legged - getting ready to be blessed.
As we mentioned earlier, men who attend the Temple for prayer would be wearing white Udeng (the headdress).
Here, an interesting sight.

limwhow #93
No instructions needed. All of us lifted our cameras and started snapping away.

 

[limwhow]

Then out of a sudden, Adrian's Rain Luck decided to change gear from a light drizzle to a slightly heavier pour.
With a real sense of urgency, Adrian said:
"Guys, guys... we can come back to this Courtyard later to shoot some more. But now let's quickly go over to the Water Chamber first..."

Ok lor... Boss says go, we'd better follow orders.

 

[limwhow]

limwhow #94
Now here I am going to be brutally honest.
To dispel whatever dreamy notion anyone has that this Water Temple Chamber is a quiet and peaceful place
where pure, cool spring water runneth over and cleanseth one's mind and body.
And where the trickle of water droplets coupled with the chirping of birds in the distance...
I present the sight we all came upon.

Full of people and noisy.
Well, at least for me, it wasn't exactly that romantic scene that I was half-expecting.
Sigh...

 

[SgTrekker]

limwhow #86a
Again, the Warrior in action.

[/QUOTE]

Uncle WHow, i like this shot of Agung, nice candid moment and even nicer bokeh! :thumbsup: The use of negative space at the top also depicts a sense of scale and perspective. If you do not mind, i'll get the raw from you and print him a copy as a souvenir next time i pay him a visit.

 

[speng]

limwhow #86a
Again, the Warrior in action.

[/QUOTE]

Wow, this is perfect. Agung can be a stage model too.

 

[limwhow]

Uncle WHow, i like this shot of Agung, nice candid moment and even nicer bokeh! :thumbsup: The use of negative space at the top also depicts a sense of scale and perspective. If you do not mind, i'll get the raw from you and print him a copy as a souvenir next time i pay him a visit.

Adrian, wah lau.... you also call me that!?!?!
Don't like that lah...
Ok sure. I will YouSendIt the RAW to you.
Thank you for liking this photo.

Wow, this is perfect. Agung can be a stage model too.

I am glad you don't dislike this photo, speng.
Thank you so much!

 

[limwhow]

Hello Uncle limwhow,
Thanks for encouragement. I have gone through this whole thread and all the pictures are very well taken and I really like it very much. And also very humor and er... like hearted.
I enjoyed very much.
Thank you
Btw, where will be the next trip??

Sorry I missed this post, MGohzxc.
SgTrekker goes all over the world every month.
Hmmm... let's just wait and see where they go next, can?

 

[limwhow]

limwhow #95
There.
We finally showed it.
This small toddler not wearing anything down there...
Found him on a small paddi with his sister and parents.

You all can search and search but I bet you can't find anything down there.
Because I burnt it already... (P.S. burnt using Burn Tool in Photoshop. Not fire. hahaha...)

limwhow #96
This old lady could be found at the village where we shot Winny.
Everyone was packing up and leaving already.
And this lady buay gam guan. Also wants to be photographed.
Everyone just shot and shot and shot her.
When I was about to leave, she asked me for money. I gave her 3000rp.
She shook her head and said not enough.
I gave her another 3000rp and she face black black...
If I could speak Balinese, I would tell her my Trek Leader General Adrian told me I can't give her any money one...

 

[SereneXMM]

SereneXMM #49

 

[SereneXMM]

SereneXMM #50

SereneXMM #51

 

[SgTrekker]

limwhow #95
There.
We finally showed it.
This small toddler not wearing anything down there...
Found him on a small paddi with his sister and parents.

You all can search and search but I bet you can't find anything down there.
Because I burnt it already... (P.S. burnt using Burn Tool in Photoshop. Not fire. hahaha...)

Cheeky la Whow, i was just about to ask you to meter off down there to get it more exposed (pardon the pun), when i read the second part of your msg. You should use SK's trademark smiley face, the one he used for the chap who was bathing naked at Unda River :bsmilie:

 

[SgTrekker]

SereneXMM #50

SereneXMM #51

Serene, nice colour variation for the baju, mine somehow all wearing white kebaya type... very err flat. You really have a knack for taking photos at the right moment!

 

[SgTrekker]

The Bakso seller outside Tirta Empul. Bakso is basically meat ball noodle soup. Sometimes with rice (longtong). Each bowl typically costs around Rp1,000-2,000. If you are a tourist, you'd pay about Rp5,000-Rp10,000 per bowl. This uncle was kind enough to charge us Rp5,000 per bowl.

Mee Bakso Ayam by Singapore Trekker, on Flickr

Upon entering Tirta Empul, like what Whow said, a caucophony of devotees, all queuing up to get cleansed by the spiritual water.

Tirta Empul Water Temple by Singapore Trekker, on Flickr