Enter all reputable bookstores in Bali and your eyes are quickly seduced by bright, colorful pictures that adorn the covers of magazines and books extolling the virtues of the island, the culture, the scenery and the friendly people, or architecture and gardens, while emphasizing the aesthetic beauty of Bali.
The Island of the Gods is undoubtedly a unique visual feast for the novice and the seasoned observer as well; color and dynamic movement saturate the eye. The photograph was the most effective way to share the distinctive qualities of Bali to the public worldwide.
mysterious images of an exotic island far away in the East Indies began circulating in Europe in early 1900 and the first collection of black and white photographs of Bali were published in two volumes in 1920. They immediately struck a cord with disenchanted Europeans, reeling from the horrors of WW1 and in fear of the communist revolution. They were hungry for new experiences and a tropical paradise. The images of German photographer Gregor Krauser was a sensation, and soon after, anthropologists, writers and artists have visited the island and began to document an idyllic and seductive world.
Fast forward into the future and revolution in technology smart phone, photography is now the fastest growing and the most popular hobby in Indonesia, if not the world. Cameras in handphones are a new hi-tech gadget which is inseparable from the culture of contemporary youth, not to mention other age groups as well. While this may remain as a toy for many in the world of narcissistic, others lucky this activity may open a window into new areas of creation, and even a career in photography.
Unlike painting and sculpture, photography Indonesia has yet to be fully embraced as an art. However, in recent years, some photographic exhibitions were held, one in particular focused on education of fine art collectors in Jakarta: Beyond Photography in 2011, organized by Jim Supangkat conservative international most respected of Indonesia, presented works of photojournalist and commercial leader, with a handful of top contemporary artists from Indonesia.
Color of dawn (Dewa Gede Aristawan Gotama: digital print on canvas)
The age of photography - Intentions and transparency in the photographs , an exhibition at the Art Gallery Tony Raka in Ubud, December 2013 - January 2014, also organized by Supangkat, featured 29 major professional photographers and amateurs Indonesian and expatriate. The exhibition was a historic event in contemporary photography in Bali because of the quality and diversity of the nature of the works.
Recognized as an island of extraordinary creative activity, there is a crowd of photographers who reside in Bali. Agung Mangu Putra's most talented painter of Bali and photography is an inseparable part of his creative process. He travels regularly around the island, environmental documentation both his greatness and degradation, but it is the Bali marginalized who are most often his subjects. In his studio in Denpasar, snapshots, and the extent of its social awareness, inspire extraordinary realism paintings.
The passion ofIda Bagus Alit for photography has drawn him along two distinct pathways. It is dedicated to documenting Balinese religious ceremonies around the island, capture rare events, and unique costumes that characterize separate villages. And he's still experimenting with colorful and quirky painting techniques on the origins of his images printed on canvas portrait, seeking new aesthetic results with his art photography.
D. P. Putra Arsa Iocal is a photographer who is annoyed to see the ubiquitous tourist images of Bali and uses photography as a means of communicating ideas that are dear to his heart. His recent exhibition in Bali Keep Calm & Shop Til Drop , the images combined into two dimensions and 3D installation, investigate the modern consumer cultural phenomenon that quickly affects the 'island. Logos and brands are an ever present role in people's lives in a world that is increasingly the image and brand oriented and works of Arsa argued that the results are the loss of personal and cultural identity .
engineer and software developer from Switzerland Jiri Kudrna experimented with technology and photographic equipment for many years while living in Bali and built devices that are on the cutting edge of experimental technology. In the words of Kudrna, "The captured image process is a complex choreography between the photographer, model and machine, often with almost unpredictable." His light plan method of photography records images in four sizes with unique optical effects and dynamic.
Australian expat photojournalist Jill Gocher divides his time between Amed, on the northeast and Ubud coast, while scouring the countryside for fresh photos and unusual. "smart phones, especially the iPhone 5 and later models can really make good pictures and the technology is amazing and when you used with applications like Snapseed, "she said. "You can make spectacular images that take hours with a regular camera and Photoshop and the quality is quite good for full page reproductions in a large format magazine."
Amed Afternoon (Jill Gocher: the digtal image)
Dewa Gede Aristawan Gotama is a young student of Fine Arts at the University UNDIKSHA Ganesha in Singaraja, north Bali, recently exposed beautiful seascapes images captured at dawn on Nusa Penida, the southeast of Bali island. Reveal an eye for composition and technique that belies his age of twenty something, skill confirms some of the depth of photographic talent in Bali.
A key element of the photographer of the process is now often linked to time spent in front of the computer screen to work with Photoshop. The program allows the development of images, as well as a range of special effects to enhance the shooting. Today, there is a lot of competition to produce great shots and the ability to technically modify the images is a must. However, as Gocher said, "The new technology of the smartphone has been condensed so that it is easy to use, although the experience still counts a lot in producing quality images, this technology now takes Contemporary Photography to a whole new level! "