Prayers, Offerings and the Holy Spring, a photo from Bali, Nusa Tenggara

Photographer's Note

After feasting on the mountainous beauty of Batur, we were on a way down South to Tampaksiring, our destination being the holy Tirtha Empul Temple or Pura Tirtha Empul . We were heading back to Gianyar Residency & Tampaksiring lay a good 30 Km South of Batur.

North of Tampaksaring, the road turns off to Tirta Empul. It is to here that the Balinese come from all over the island on pilgrimages to bathe in the holy springs and thus cleanse themselves spiritually.

The temple of Pura Tirta Empul is built around the sacred spring at Tampak Siring. Over 1000 years old, the temple and its two bathing places have been used by the people for good health and prosperity because of the spring water's curative powers. Regular ceremonies are held for purification.

The name Tirta Empul is derives from the large spring in the centre of the temple. "Tirta" means holy water and "Empul" means spring so Tirta Empul is holy water spring.

Light was not good, especially after day long rain. The photo was taken at around 5.40 in the evening in fading light...add to the fact the dark mossy stones all around.

Through the gate on the right, one can see water gushing out from the spring into one of the bathing areas...and some tourists with cameras as well!

After leaving a small offering to the deity of spring, men and women go either side to bathe. This man is praying & his offerings can be seen to the left of the frame. Religious Offerings in Bali are works of art & of great aesthetic beauty.

I have posted two WS photos. In one WS I’ve posted a closeup of one such offering (though not very beautiful) from this place. The second WS is a picture of the holy spring. One can see the plants and the minerals (I think Sulphur) below the crystal clear water. Water from this spring goes to the bathing areas.

PS I found the shot oversharpened, after I posted it. Thereafter I have posted yet another WS where I have done some corrective measures for the sharpening (reduced it) & also a little with the colours.

siolaw, sabyasachi1212, pablominto, papagolf21, Henryk_Bilor, ChrisJ, pierrefonds, cunejo200, feather, emjleclercq, vincz, jhm, josepmarin, plimrn, John_F_Kennedy, sayat, atus, zeca, sayan, berek, happypoppeye trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

siolaw (38294) 2006-11-04 0:04

Hi Angshu
Nice view on htat ritual, good colors and mossy texture of the green bricks.. interesting workshops too
TFS
LAurent

sabyasachi1212 (19779) 2006-11-04 1:31

Hi Angshu,
Compositionwise this seems flawless. Like the way you have captured the man engrossed in prayer, almost seems like a Hindu ritual. There seems to be some problem with the sharpness and clarity here which is answered by your exposure details. I guess in low light, rainy and overcast conditions this is the best one could manage.
Best Wishes
Sabyasachi

pablominto (53746) 2006-11-04 1:48

Hello Angshu,
An interesting documentary again!
Image is very well composed, I notice the other guy photographing... Some come to pray, some come to see...
Well balanced composition with good lines!
Greetings,
Pablo -

Graal (103040) 2006-11-04 2:27

Hi Angshuman,
interesting a place and scene. Fine colours and composition. Good informations in note. Well done photo.
Gr., Aleksander

Gerrit (62042) 2006-11-04 3:04

Dag Angshu,
well captured scene of devotion. Fine overview of all the activities in the temple.
I noticed before that you have some difficulties with the whites. Maybe you should try delective colour in PS and put some black in the whites.
Regards, Gerrit

papagolf21 (152607) 2006-11-04 3:59

Bonjour Angshu,
Merci, Angshu, de nous montrer le visage de l'Indonésie, de ses rites, de ses croyances, de ses cultures.
Cette image est particulièrement étonnante où se mêlent la ferveur et le tourisme.
Merci, également pour les photos présentées en atelier.
Amitiés.
Philippe

ndb1958 (9289) 2006-11-04 5:34

A nice posting about religious life in Bali. It's fascinating How they are able to integrate their religion and devotion with daily life. A beautiful place with the green moss near the stones.
Nice image,
Nino

jasmis (58653) 2006-11-04 6:20

Superb exotic photo with important note. Perfect. Thanks for sharing. Regards.

partha (14023) 2006-11-04 6:22

wonderful shot. U have clicked in perfect time. Good representation of the activities. The perspective is well. Only I want to say the post processing work. The sharpening is more( i mean the radius).
Anyway a nice documentry shot.
Partha

ChrisJ (171888) 2006-11-04 6:39

Hi Angshuman

I like the strong compositional diagonal axis & symmetry of the 2 men in prayer. Tfs!

pierrefonds (114584) 2006-11-04 8:01

Hi Angshuman,

A good POV of this offering altar and of the people praying, a lot of details can be seen. The photo has a good composition, perspective and nice colors. Thanks for sharing.

Pierre

cunejo200 (7281) 2006-11-04 9:31

Hi Angshu,
Wondeful! Great composition with so many engaging details to enjoy. Interesting to see that the praying man is not disturbed by tourists with cameras. Well done my friend. Have a good w/e. Danilo

clic (76) 2006-11-04 14:23

Bonjour Angshuman
A much instructive document!
The man looks quite devoted and sincere. Nice point of view showing both sections of premises.
Maybe a polarizing filter in front of lens would have help
in wet flat areas.
Take care
Robert

feather (51130) 2006-11-04 15:26

Weather conditions when we travel are the bane of our lives; as we will probably not be going back we do the best we can. I think you did as well as you could in the conditions and the composition is very good with the praying man facing into the image. The extra shots in the WS supplement the excellent info. you have given us. I looked at your most recent WS with different PP and think that is better. well done
Kath

emjleclercq (15778) 2006-11-04 15:56

Nice posture of the praying man on the right. The framing is good since you managed to get both the man and the altar. But I believe you should have improved the sharpness a little beat, since the grey color of the stones and the green moss are not to improved the contrast in the picture.

All the best,

Emmanuel

vinicio (23423) 2006-11-04 16:33

The amazing fact is, at my taste, that this man pray surrounded from tourists, this scene is full of life, good shot Angshu, good composition and good POV, compliments.
Ciao
Vinicio

vincz (19113) 2006-11-04 17:28

Despite the very difficult light you did well here trnsmitting us the atmosphere of the place. The man praying together with all the "messy" offerings seems so typicak, not even mentioning the guy taking a picture who is now without any possible discussion part of the palce. All this mixed is the reality nowadays. Excellent composition.

prezntime (3946) 2006-11-04 21:01

Hello Angshuman.
Wow, I really like all of the lines criss-crossing all through your photograph. The composition is spot one, having the man praying to the right and seeing into all of the different areas. Just wonderful texture as well. Very bright for the low light conditions...a little too crisp maybe. Very good shot none-the-less and again a superb composition.
Regards friend,
Chris.

jhm (211736) 2006-11-05 2:13

Hi Angshu

You show us a very well view about the activity in and around the temple, the man in foreground are in high concentration, also other tourists are present between different passages, nice composition good light and colours. Thanks for sharing.

Greetings from Belgium,
John.

leo61 (0) 2006-11-05 3:03

Hi Angshu!
Good composition with the prayer at this famous place and what a contrast of him with the photographing tourist.The prayer is placed perfect oposite of the altar and I like the perspective.
Regards,Leo

Henryk_Bilor (20803) 2006-11-05 3:37

Hello Angshuman
Again nice scene. Interesting capture among the temple with those people doing different things.
Regards

Budapestman (82620) 2006-11-05 11:28

Dear Angshu!
This is a very expressive photo and superb theme. Its an excellent POV and suggestive mood. Details are fine and interesting. Splendid shot! Thank you, nice days
George

josepmarin (59385) 2006-11-05 13:14

Hi Angshuman,
Curious mixture of this intimate moment of a man praying, with the offerings and the wonderful environment, and the tourists taking photos in this area. A very well caught instant, where the good definition shows us the details of this temple, with a very soft lighting and a few agreeable colors, with many elements to see.
Good composition.
Regards, my friend,
Josep

plimrn (21344) 2006-11-05 23:35

Hi Angshu,
The PP in your Ws is excellent - It's surprising that decreasing the sharpening & contrast makes ithe photo look sharper. I'll remember that trick. I also Really like the photo of the pool with its lovely reflection and qurprisingly equal clarity. I think Josep Marin's comments describe the composition well
Regards, Pat

rosaline (0) 2006-11-06 3:58

Hi Angshu
I saw something similar to this in Bodh Gaya last year. The situation and atmosphere seem the same. Quite amazing. I like the composition here as you have captured the man praying in a natural posture. Good pov and nice detail.
Well done.
Aubrey

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2006-11-06 4:05

Great shot!! I love the vivid colours and movement.
Achim

sayat (2949) 2006-11-06 11:10

Very nice shot Dear Angshu. In fact, I like more the one in the WS with less sharpening effect. Your POV and DOF in the shot are just fine. Great shot.
Sayat

prumod (8300) 2006-11-06 11:33

hi angshu,
this splendid composition is very odd one... i like its depth very much...
greetings
pramod

atus (15878) 2006-11-06 17:55

Hello Angshu,
very well captured shot of a great atmosphere. Very good perspective and sharpness, well managed lighting and well saturated colours. Thank you for sharing this and the bonus photos in the WS.
Best wishes.
Attila

zeca (19762) 2006-11-06 22:48

Hey Angshu!
Umbelieveble how rich is your gallery, always showing nice compositions. Nice timing to get this prayer..
Regards,
Zeca

sayan (2617) 2006-11-07 3:12

Dear Angshuman da,

Yes, you are correct about the oversharpening. I ike the WS. But this one is really good. Saturated in every sense. It is a busy shot with various activities. The prayers, offerings and the busy photographers, travellers are really well captured in a single frame.
regards
sayan

sergio1 (12152) 2006-11-07 13:00

Hi Angshu

Great moment shot to ritual. I like the scene and compo.
Magnific shot to TE.
Sergio

arjun_das (1851) 2006-11-08 10:53

hi angshuman,
excellent capture of the man offering his prayer. a typical hindu gesture. nice architectural work too. light and pov are good as well. tfs.
regards,
arjun

berek (50518) 2006-11-09 4:20

Hi Angshuman,
I like this traditional view. mystic place nice shot. good colours and framing also. have a nice day.
burak
my overall evaluation -> ***