Marty Mellway Photography

2 sec   ƒ/3.5   ISO 400  17 mm This photograph is taken in a Balinese Hindu temple at night during a festival. The illumination of the backs of the people sitting in the foreground was caused by them lighting incense.  A little light goes a long way in a long exposure. One thing I like about this photograph which I didn't notice the first few times is the statue of a god on the right hand side which is looking down over all the praying Balinese. It is truly an amazing thing to witness. The sounds of bells, and the deep voice of the priests chanting prayers. The smell of incense and fresh flowers. This same scene might have been taking place over a thousand years ago. Photography tips: Of course with a long exposure you always want to use a tripod and a self-timer/remote. Best way to avoid people looking at you while you photograph something like this is to sit down and interact a littl...

Our first week back in Bali has been great. It took us only two days to fully adjust to the 12 hour time change. After arriving in Denpasar and staying near the bus station for a couple nights we took a local minibus up into the mountains of central Bali. The minibuses are large vans that take specific routes and will pick people up anywhere along the way. Much cheaper and more fun the the tourist mini buses. We arrived in the town of Candi Kuning after a quick two hour ride which took us first through the flat agricultural region of central Bali and then up into the mountains. From Candi Kuning (pronounced Chandi Kuning) we did a day hike into the Jungle towards a temple on a ridge on the far side of the Volcanic lake(Danau Bratan). The Jungle was pretty dense and the trail got smaller and more grown in the further we went. We saw many different species of tropical birds and insects as well as some kind of squirrel and a few macaks. The macaks in the high mountain regions of Bali ...

After a few days in Jakarta it was time to move on. JP had found a job in Jakarta so his journey ended there, for now. We flew down to Bali, continuing our search for work. We have been in Bali now for maybe about a week. A couple days in Kuta (a boring beach town near the airport, popular for drinking and clubbing), 5 days in Ubud and today we arrived in the beach town of Lovina. On the second day in Ubud we did some cycling through the countryside and visited a few temples and sacred sites. On the third day we did a 10KM walk through some of the major archaeological sites around Ubud. We walked out of Ubud towards the village of Sala. Most of the way was down hill deep into ravines and then the strenuous climb up the other side. Arriving in Sala was a nice change, nice and flat! Rice Paddies as far as we could see. We passed through some of the important local temples and saw some of the different style of ancient Balinese architecture. Not far from Sala we went to the Ant...