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.