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Posts Tagged: Elmarit 90mm
Chapter Forty: Sitting down in Istanbul: October 2014
On February 5, 2015 by Simon Leech With 1 Comments
- Travel
Whilst reviewing my post trip images from a recent trip to Istanbul, I noticed that, at least in terms of the photos I was happy with, Turkish men and women alike seem to have a lot of time to spend sitting down. Whether it’s reading a newspaper, drinking coffee, visiting a mosque, earning money, or just pondering life, they certainly like to rest their feet. Rather than do a ‘normal’ post trip report, I thought for now I would just share some shots of a nation of perchers…..
The story starts in the Grand Bazaar. In the afternoons and at the weekend a bustling market full of bargains to be made, but at 10am on a Friday morning, it’s time to relax…
…and have a cup of turkish coffee (no doubt paying less than the 12 Turkish Lira that I was charged when I attempted to do the same…..)
Of course, if it’s nice weather and you want to top up your tan, where better to sit than outside with a newspaper?
There’s always money to be made selling bird seed to tourists outside the mosque. But not on a Friday. Then it’s hard enough work trying to stay awake whilst the pigeons fend for themselves.
Once inside the mosque walls, it’s worth sitting down again to contemplate the day’s prayer
If you’re not the praying type, there’s bound to be someone who wants to buy some chain. But probably not when everyone else is praying, so until they come out, why not just sit down again and have a rest before the post mosque rush begins?
You can be sure your wife is doing the same somewhere….
…because it’s hard work shopping
For the guy who is busy selling his stuff for ‘free’, a generous friend with a cup of coffee never gets ignored
And finally, security is important. And how better to guard stuff than by sitting down. Whether they’re pigeons….
…or big bags of ‘stuff’.
All photos taken in Istanbul with the Leica M-E Rangefinder, using a combination of the 50mm Summilux ASPH, and the 90mm Elmarit-M during the Leica User Forum One Challenge weekend. Despite what the light hearted fun of this blog post might suggest, there’s a lot that can be achieved by sitting down, even if it is just for a few minutes 🙂
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Chapter Thirty-Eight: Ngaben Cremation Ceremony, Ubud: July 2014
On January 5, 2015 by Simon Leech With 1 Comments
- Travel
In Bali, as with other communities that practice the Hindu religion, it is normal to cremate the dead. Ngaben, the name for the cremation ceremony in Balinese, is the funeral ritual that is performed by the people of Bali to send deceased relatives to the next life. The ceremony itself is often very expensive, and, whilst it is normal for members of the upper castes to perform the funeral ritual within three days of the passing of a relative, lower social classes will typically wait until the next mass cremation ceremony, opting to bury the bodies for a number of months until the next mass ceremony takes place.
In Ubud, mass ceremonies take place a couple of times per year, and we were fortunate to be invited to such a ceremony during our travels. The cremation ceremony is not considered a sad event, as the Balinese believe in reincarnation so the body will only be temporarily absent as it passes on to the next life. The ceremony we attended was for around 80 deceased from three villages who had passed on over the previous couple of months.
Cremation is considered a family event, and young to old all take part in the celebration of the deceased’s life.
The exact date of a cremation ceremony is decided upon after consultation with a specialist in Balinese holy days. The ceremony itself consists of a number of parts. First the body is exhumed (in the case of cremations that are taking place some time after the time of death), and placed inside a coffin. The coffin is then put inside a decorative paper mache sarcophagus, or inside a wooden temple structure.
After this, the coffin is transported by relatives from the house to the location of the cremation. This can often be a couple of kilometres of walking, and, on a hot Balinese summer day, is hard work.
Additionally the procession never travels in a straight line in an effort to confuse the evil spirits and make sure they don’t travel with the deceased on to the after life. Watching, the procession almost seems choreographed.
Once the coffin arrives at the cremation, it is placed in line with the other sarcophaguses, and the family sit down to wait until the cremation starts. Whilst they wait the families feast, and wander around the food stalls and market stalls that are assembled.
It seems that in Bali the chicken has a very big role, and again chickens were being used as part of Ngaben. Poultry was tied to the sarcophagus, and released once the coffin had arrived. I was told that it was good luck if you were able to catch one of the released birds.
As soon as all of the coffins have arrived, and with the fire service in attendance, it is time to start burning the bodies. The ‘honour’ of lighting the first coffin is down to the relative of the most recently deceased – at this event this was a lady whose husband had passed away just the day before. Rather than using matches, the fire is fuelled by a complicated, and not particularly safe looking, gas installation.
It was certainly a very interesting experience, and, since it is seen as a celebration, we were welcomed by the locals. People didn’t seem to have a problem with me taking photos, and many were happy to pose. Out of respect I wore a traditional sarong and Balinese head dress.
Photos in this post were taken using the Leica M-E (digital) and Leica M6 (film with Portra 160). Lenses used were Summicron 28mm, Summilux 50mm, and Elmarit 90mm.
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Chapter Thirty-Seven: Gabor Dancing at the Royal Palace, Ubud: July 2014
On November 23, 2014 by Simon Leech With 0 Comments
- Travel
Gabor dancing is typically a presentation or welcoming dance, and is demonstrated every evening at the Royal Palace in Ubud, Bali. During the day there are teams of ticket sellers competing to get you to buy a ticket for one of the evening performances that take place in and around Ubud. Since we were staying close by to Ubud centre, we chose to visit the performance at the Royal Palace opposite the market.
We arrived at the Palace early and were lucky to get seats in the front row of the seated area. This put us at a distance of around 5 metres from the stage, so it was an ideal opportunity to use the Elmarit 90mm lens that I had purchased just before our trip. Â Most of the images in this post were shot at either f/2.8, f/3.4, or f/4, and using ISOs ranging from ISO800 to ISO1250 (which I have found to be the highest safe colour setting on the Leica M-E).
The dancers are typically young ladies in the role of the princesses, young children to play the deer, and an older man to play the role of the evil King. The dancers depict the story of Sita, sent into exile, and Rahwana, the evil king, who is enchanted by the beauty of Sita, and sets out to capture her. Â The role play is very dramatic, and involves dancing and fighting. The rest of the story can be found elsewhere, such as here, so I will just use this post to display some of the images I made.
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Chapter Thirty Six: Tajen – Cockfighting in Bali: July 2014
On November 6, 2014 by Simon Leech With 0 Comments
- Travel
Continuing with our travels in Bali, I was given the opportunity to visit a Balinese cock fight, or Tajen. Please be aware, this is a fairly barbaric event, and therefore some of the photos may upset you.  It was pretty sickening to see the birds fighting and dying, but it was an event that I was glad I was able to experience.
Bobby, the taxi driver we were using in Ubud, is a friendly guy, and he was happy to spend his time showing us all the normal tourist attractions on the island. I had been discussing my photography with him, and expressed an interest in getting some photos that were a little bit different to the ‘normal’ Bali vacation images. One evening he mentioned that there would be a village cock fight the following morning, and asked if I would like to go. Thinking it would be an ideal opportunity to get some good reportage shots, I said yes.
Cockfighting in Bali is big business. The village cockfights happen a couple of times per year, and are visited by thousands of people. It’s an opportunity for local bird fighters to take their prize cocks to fight to the death against other cocks. A practise that is fairly barbaric and illegal in the rest of the world, but tolerated in Bali (tolerated in as much as pay a bribe to the local police chief, and he’ll turn a blind eye). There is also a religious aspect to the cockfighting – they are also practiced inside temple grounds as an ancient ritual of religious purification to expel evil spirits. Unfortunately this was not such an occassion.
The trainers condition their birds, feeding them the best food and grooming them daily until they are about two years old and ready to fight. Cocks have national aggression for other males, so once the time has come, the trainers stick steroids down their throats, tie blades to their legs, and put them into the ring to fight.
Like a boxing match, the umpire decides how far the fight will go – either until the bird is killed, or, more usually, until the bird is injured and can’t fight on. At which point the losing bird will be killed, his right leg cut off and presented to the winner, and the rest of the bird goes to the soup pot. During the fights the spectators are going wild, shouting to encourage the bird that they have bet upon.
Also like a boxing match, significant money is exchanged in the form of bets – the trainers receive appearance money, with more going to the winner, and the spectators can bet at predetermined odds on their favourite bird.
It’s a social event, and outside the ring there are vendors selling food, drink, and clothing, giving the gamblers an opportunity to spend their winnings if they were lucky, or drink away their sorrows if they were not.
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