BanHup Teh Photography » Bali

Bali, a never-ending story

Banhup Teh — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 11:29:25 +0000

I have lost count of the number of times I have been to Bali. For the past few years, I have been there at least once a year – sometimes even twice in a year! Despite that I never seem to get enough of this magical island. When one has nice food, really friendly people coupled with so many shooting opportunities, what else can a photographer ask for? This is especially so if one is into people photography.

I organised a photo-safari to this paradise last July where a group of keen enthusiasts joined me with this eat-sleep-drink photography event. It was a shoot in the morning, a short rest in the afternoon (when lighting was too harsh to do any photography anyway) and more shooting till sunset followed by post-processing sessions every evening. One can only imagine what fun we had!

Here are a few shots from the trip to share. I have updated my All about Bali gallery slideshow with shots from this photo-safari. Please feel free to view that gallery which I will be updating daily when I have the shots processed.

Action

Splash

Cast away

Reflect

Fly away

Siem Reap, here I come!

Banhup Teh — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 01:20:47 +0000

One more day and I will be off to Siem Reap, Cambodia on my (very likely) last teaching photo-safari for the year. Having organised and taught in 2 previous photo-safaris this year (Myanmar – March and Bali – June), I think it is time I start something different to keep my interest going. You see, I get bored with routines easily hence I have thought of something exciting for the future. More of that later.

The last time I was in Siem Reap was during Crossing Bridges 5 in November 2008 where I also did my red umbrella series. This time round I have organised an exciting and interesting itinerary for the participants. For a change (didn't I say I am usually bored with routines?) I have planned a more structured teaching program especially during the post-processing sessions in the evenings to get the participants more involved. They will have assignments daily which will be reviewed and critiqued.

Finally, since I will be away for this photo-safari from 16th-20th and since I am not sure if I will have access to the internet, please be patient if I did not reply to your emails or inquiries. I assure you that I will reply them at the earliest instance once internet access is available. For that I thank you for your understanding.

And for that, allow me to share with you a shot of Pak Gulem taken during my last photo-safari to Bali.

Taken with Nikon d3 + Nikon 24/1.4 Aperture Priority @ f/2.2 ISO 200 1/125s.

Will I do pre-wedding photography?

Banhup Teh — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 00:06:47 +0000

Someone once asked me this very question and I gave a very non-committal answer. I now know deep down inside me I will take up that challenge one day. Yes, one fine day….

During the Bali photo-safari recently, I met multi-award wedding photographer Keda Z. Feng at one of my frequent haunts in Bali. With his permission (both to shoot some and to post these) I grabbed a few shots. A very special 'thank you' to Keda for this opportunity and the permission to share these. Here is how I would like to see the shots.

Click image to view large.

Which is better?

Banhup Teh — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 09:18:57 +0000

Assuming this is any good at all, which do you think is better, the one in color or the one in black & white? Personally I can't decide.

This was taken at a local market in Kayu Amba, Bali. It was early morning with the light coming from an alley to her right. Still quite dim as the ISO will show. This elderly lady was standing alone in one corner selling her small basket of vegetables. Like in almost all of my subjects, I approached her to get her permission to take some shots. I was so glad that she didn't mind at all.

Taken with Nikon D3 + Nikon 24mm/1.4 @ f/1.4 ISO 800 1/400s.

Click image to view large image.

Pak Gulem at work

Banhup Teh — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 10:02:02 +0000

Pak Gulem is a friend of Pak Sara's. They are both from the village of Bedulu, Bali. You have seen a shot of Pak Sara. Here is a shot of Pak Gulem at work taken with the Nikon 24mm/1.4 @ f/1.4 1/640s ISO 200.

Splashed

Banhup Teh — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:59:42 +0000

Here is another shot I took of the dancers at the Klungkung waterfall. We have seen many subjects taken at this waterfall including pre-wedding shots (in fact I have one of these too – more of that later) but there are very few of Balinese dancers let along of them being splashed with water.

Taken with Nikon D3 + Nikon 70-200mm/2.8 VRII @ f/6.3 1/125s ISO 200.

Splashed

The fighting shadows

Banhup Teh — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 00:59:53 +0000

We had the opportunity to witness (and of course, to photograph too) a cock-fighting demonstration at Bedulu village, Bali. Even though it was a tame version of the banned cock-fighting of Bali, it was still an unforgettable experience to those who were witnessing it for the first time. The cockerels were not harmed during this session and there was none of the usual betting. I have witness an actual cock-fighting before and boy, was it gory!

For this shot, I was standing on a cement slab and at an oblique angle while the rest of the participants were taking shots face-on. I was actually trying to capture the shadows. Used my trusty 24mm/1.4 for this.

The fighting shadows

Nikon D3 + Nikon 24mm/1.4 @ f/9 1/500s ISO 200.

By the way, to all of you who have subscribed to my posts, there seems to be some problems with the automatic notifications by the plug-in I am using. I am looking into this and hope to rectify it as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience.

Pak Sara of Bedulu village, Bali

Banhup Teh — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 01:54:35 +0000

I met Pak Sara during one of my previous Bali photo-safaris. I made an appointment to meet him (and Pak Gulem – more of him later) again at his village because he is really friendly and has no problems posing for us. We were rewarded with some keepers from them. This is one of him with a catapult.

Taken with Nikon 24mm/1.4 @ f/1.4 1/200s ISO 200.

I am back!

Banhup Teh — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:18:24 +0000

What a Bali photo-safari! It was great fun as expected. It was action from the word go. From what I saw from the sample shots taken by the participants I know I will be seeing some great shots from them soon. Personally I think I have some great shots too. I won't be doing much post-processing in the next couple of weeks as I need to get the new editions of the ebooks out as soon as possible. Here is a candid shot that I have from these too dancers at the Klungkung waterfalls. Hope you like it.

Taken with Nikon D3 + Nikon 70-200mm/2.8 VRII @ f/6.3 1/500s ISO 200.

One of the few shots I have from the Nikon D3X

Banhup Teh — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 03:42:31 +0000

I don't have many from this incredible camera. Thanks to Nikon Malaysia, I was given a loaned unit to give it a spin during one of my Bali photo-safaris. Definitely a different animal, in a good sense, from the Nikon D3. The details you get from this camera is gorgeous!

Met this girl sitting outside the house waiting for the temple procession to pass by in Ubud. Taken with Nikon D3X + Nikon 70-200mm VR1 @ f/3.2 ISO 250 1/200s.

Bali, see you tomorrow!!! <3