Crafting the Gamelan
This was where I retreated to after the heat from the previous post! Obviously, crafting these musical instruments requires quite a fair amount of precision work in order to get the tone and pitch of each piece correct.
Category: Travel
Taken on vacation trips
In The Fiery Forge
New post updates will be more frequent with the recent haul of pictures I took in Indonesia… 😀
The first place we visited for photography after our arrival in Solo City was a forge where ethnic Javanese musical instruments and gongs were made. Getting into the forge was a challenge due to the heat and level of dust kicked up by the work going on inside. To protect ourselves, we had to put on disposable ponchos and face masks. Unfortunately, this made the actual picture-taking process practically unbearable due to the immense heat! I lasted barely five minutes inside before I had to retreat outside for some fresh air. The above is probably the only decent picture I managed to get during those few minutes within. Interestingly, someone has posted a short video clip of the gong-making process much earlier on, showing literally what we actually saw. There is quite a fair bit of ritual involved in the forging of these musical instruments as this post describes.
Master At Work II
A continuation of the pictures taken from my most recent visit to Solo City, Indonesia… A typical “photo-hunting” day involved having to wake up really early in the morning (on average at 3am) so as to reach a scenic area to catch the first light of day. Once the sun rises high enough turning the quality of light harsh, it’s time to catch some sleep on our transport, taking on our way, a leisurely breakfast. As the sun gets overhead, we head indoors for some environmental portraits of people at work (in various interesting areas on this trip such as a wayang kulit artist’s studio, a guitar-making hut and even a tofu factory). More siesta time (and lunch) follows on our transport before we head, weather-permitting, to catch more scenic pictures in the “golden hours” while the sun gradually sets. Then, it’s dinner followed by our trip back to the hotel take an early night’s rest.
It is no wonder that I chalked up over 2000 shots in just five days, of which I have already identified easily 50 “keepers” with more yet to be sifted through and processed! More pictures to follow…