The original title for this post was to have been "Paul: Photographing the Photographer." That's because during Paul's December visit, we spent two days walking through traditional markets in Pontianak and Singkawang, in search of his favorite photo opportunities.
Pontianak's traditional market sells fresh fish and produce of every description, and its name, Pasar Flamboyan, is very appropriate for the explosion of colors and intensity of smells one encounters walking through. I advised my friend, Olaf, today that Indonesian traditional markets are not spotlessly clean like those he might encounter in his native Switzerland, so he might want to wear shoes with a closed toe instead of sandals on his first visit to the Flamboyan. His question basically was "okay but what happens to your shoes?" Wear old ones, 'cause you don't wanna know :)
Paul's photographic journey through the Pasar Flamboyan, and the Pasar Hong Kong in Singkawang, was focused on texture, not color. He likes to photograph objects at extreme close-up range, in part because the resulting image, with its unusual textures, almost always becomes an excellent conversation starter for an ESL/EFL conversation class. By contrast, I often photograph "street scenes" at long range.
Indonesians are such "hams" for the camera - especially the guys, who will insist that the Western dude walking around their community take their picture as though it were a matter of self-preservation. For a people planning to rely on tourism in the future to support themselves through tough times, it perhaps does mean life and death. Being a professional, Paul had a professional's equipment, and he had only to point it toward a group of people to make them spring instantly to life, as though conditioned to respond to the lens.
No comments:
Post a Comment