Bali 2 - The Drummer

Posted by Stu (Kyoto, Japan) on 6 December 2006 in People & Portraits and Portfolio.

Went to see a traditional dance in Denpasar called Barong. There were some local musicians playing and this guy was playing a drum that sat on his lap as he slapped it with his hands. At times he would get totally lost in the music, like in this shot.

This is my first B&W post so critique welcomed!
Many thanks.

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Comments (17)

H.O from Victoria, Canada

Really Great work Stu. I love this your first b&w image. nice desu !! :)

6 Dec 2006 3:15am

@H.O: thanks ho.

Jason Kravitz from Brussels, Belgium

B&W looks quite good to me for this shot. I love his expression - lost in the music indeed.

6 Dec 2006 4:35am

@Jason Kravitz: cheers jason. he was really out there!

Craig Persel from Montreal, Canada

A drum trance. Well captured.

6 Dec 2006 6:31am

@Craig Persel: thanks craig. cheers for dropping by.

Matt Cauquil from Brussels, Belgium

Very nice BW, it gives the shot a deeper atmosphere to it, makes it more serious. And the eyes closed tells you how into the music he is...

6 Dec 2006 7:27am

@Matt Cauquil: thanks matt. your cremation pic is a belter.

Dotun from United States

Nice shot!

6 Dec 2006 8:41am

@Dotun: Loved your squirrel shot mate!

Zach Siebert from Bologna, Italy

wonderful portrait. i can feel the music!

6 Dec 2006 9:53am

@Zach Siebert: cheers zach. your plastica shot's an eye-catcher!

Duncan Galbraith from kyoto, Japan

For me stu, you've won the portrait of the day award. Its a stunner mate. You're really finding your feet with the new gear ne?

6 Dec 2006 10:37am

@Duncan Galbraith: thanks duncs. quite a compliment coming from you - the king of the face shot - as your new post "zoned" shows!

Laurie from New Jersey, United States

Nice work on this one...I really like tho moment you captured...His concentration is palpable.

6 Dec 2006 11:29am

@Laurie: thanks laurie. your kind words are much appreciated.

Matt Trujillo Photography from Portland, United States

Beautiful portrait. Both the b&w and the shallow depth of field contribute wonderfully to focus attention on the subject. Were it not for the description, I would have thought this person lost in prayer or meditation. I really like the curved element on the left, but you might clip a little of the black to the left of that. Well done.

6 Dec 2006 12:12pm

@Matt Trujillo Photography: yeah i wondered about clipping some of that off - might have looked a bit better after all. thanks dude.

Shuva from Hyderabad, India

Real good b/w, slightly underexposed, but the contrast and levels are good.

6 Dec 2006 12:36pm

@Shuva: thanks for the critique shuva. still gotta work on the B&W technique.

Damon Schreiber from Toronto, Canada

Beautifully done. You've really captured the mood.

6 Dec 2006 2:31pm

@Damon Schreiber: cheers mate. thought your night-shots of the city were excellent!

Martin from a small village in Lower Austria, Austria

Great shot, b&w is excellent here!

6 Dec 2006 4:05pm

@Martin: thanks for the visit and the input martin.

Angry Buddha from United States

B&W turned out great. Nice portrait.

6 Dec 2006 4:24pm

@Angry Buddha: thanks for viewing and the comment mate.

Aaron Schmidt from Auckland, New Zealand

Very nice capture. He's definitely into his music.

6 Dec 2006 4:30pm

Chris Sullivan from Melbourne, Australia

Black and white contrasts and depth are excellent. His expression is great, he really is in some other place

6 Dec 2006 5:02pm

Colour blind from Tokyo, Japan

You've done it with this picture mate!!! He's really in a trance and you can clearly see it in his face. I love the really dark shadows of the B&W treatment. Even without the description you could see that this guy was really into what ever he was doing. Fantastic job mate!!

6 Dec 2006 8:11pm