Beautiful People
Bali Indonesia 2019
Something I miss very much about travelling is the culture that comes along with the new places I’d visit. How the weekends are spent, the food consumed, the daily lives, working life and all the things that come along. These photos were taken during my trip to Bali in 2019. I found that during my time there, the majority of people I encountered were spirited, hard working and kind. When travelling in countries where you do not speak the language, ones body language, facial expressions and hand actions are really your best bet at communication.
The first photo in this set is a man who was working just outside of his shop in the evening preparing what looked like to be his dinner. He smiled at us as we passed by; I showed him my camera and he nodded with a smile on his face and gave out a wave, then I thanked him and went on my way. I use to be very nervous to take photos of people. I was so awkward and would just try and sneak photos (which sometimes works great) but I learned on this trip that some will say yes, others will say no and all is good. Depending on the situation sometimes a smile and thank you is payment enough, other times the models want some compensation which is totally understandable and leads into the second photo.
This photo is to this day still my favourite photo I’ve ever taken. I love this photo more than any wildlife or landscape photo I’ve taken because I just found this woman so beautiful, when I look into her eyes I just feel such a sense of ease.
She caught my eye as she was walking down the street with a bunch of cardboard boxes and an old water jug. Truthfully I first tried to sneakily catch a photo of her passing by pretending to take a photo of my mum but something about her presence just intrigued me so much I needed to get an actual portrait. I communicated the best I could how beautiful I thought she was and that I’d love to take a picture. She hesitated for a moment and started walking away, then stoped to put down her jug and allowed me to capture a quick picture. I then gave her some money for her time and she was back on her way. I know nothing of her story but when I look at this photo I can only imagine the life this woman has lived and I hope she’s doing well in this life. She now hangs on my wall and every time I look at her I am transported back to that beautiful place in Bali.
The markets in Bali are incredible. Clothing, nicknacks, food, tools, pretty much anything you could think of; just packed into hundreds of stalls. This photo was a sneaky one. This woman was working very hard, negotiating with her customers, sorting her produce while sitting on a not so comfy looking bucket. She probably spends most of the weekend here to make ends meet. I can’t imagine how long this woman has been doing this for, she looked tired and as if it had been awhile. It’s crazy when I compare the western working world to this day and all of the elderly people working.. It seems that no one is willing to work but across the world someone 3x their age is willing to work extremely hard and in uncomfortable situations just to get by. Definitely something to put into perspective when heading into your jobs in the morning.
We came across this man during our descend from Mount Batar. There was a small village on the side of the mountain filled with shacks, gardens and lots of people and animals. This man was sitting with a couple dozen tomatoes while someone down the way was harvesting. Our guide told us he spends his day filling sacks with tomatoes and smoking cigarettes. When I asked for a photo he was smiling, nodded and posed straight faced. After I grabbed a shot he smiled and waved us off than continued with his work. I honestly couldn’t imagine sitting there all day doing his job. Makes me grateful for the working opportunities I’ve had throughout my years and I truly have appreciation for people who do this sort of work.
This man was GRINDING. We were visiting Tegenungan Waterfall after a day of hiking. It was mid day, hot as hell and we had just went in for a swim and tour around the falls. As we were walking the shore on our way back out I saw this man digging; I believe he was levelling out the area but thats just my observation. I will say he was working extremely hard, not paying attention to anything around him just working non-stop.
I find the work ethic people have in countries other than Canada are tremendous. I witnessed so many more farmers in their gardens, people in the rice fields, women carrying baskets full of food to their cart. I hope this man was able to also enjoy a dip in the water after his work day and wasn’t there for too long.
These three I just refer to as ‘The Boys’. These kids were ripping around the streets near our airbnb on this moped yelling, laughing and playing. They pointed at my camera as we walked by and started posing so of course I had to capture these little models. They were so sweet and ripped off laughing their little butts off after our shoot and I didn’t see them again. I adore moments like these seeing children playing together outside getting into a little trouble rather than head down in a screen, it’s very refreshing.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading the little blurbs on the encounters I had with some beautiful souls in Bali. I am grateful for all of my experiences and people I met during this trip. It was truly a trip of a lifetime and I will forever cherish these memories.