Celebrations & Other Stuff...

A Permangku Prepares Holy Water During A Temple Odalon (Birthday), Pura Taman Sari, Bali, Indonesia

As we enter the final laps of Holiday preparations here in the USA and elsewhere, there is a great, joyous celebration of another sort entirely unfolding on the tiny Agama Hindu Island of Bali in the Indonesian Archipelago. Galungan is today (or was it yesterday with the time & dateline difference). Sometimes referred to as the Balinese New Year, Galungan is the time when the deified ancestral Gods are invited down from heaven to visit their living progeny and bestow their blessings upon the faithful. To further entice the Gods to linger in the earthy plane until the celebration of Kunigan ten days later, great feasts, mounds of colorful, elaborate offerings are made, elegant performances of music & dance are held, visits to family & village temples take place and nearly everyone takes a few days for to return to the villages of their birth to pray and celebrate with family & friends. The streets and family compounds are decorated with intricate bamboo poles with dangling bits made of woven palm, symbolizing the great Holy Mountain... or so I'm told. Galungan is Bali at it's most elegant best. Selamat Hari Raya Galungan to all my dear friends and adopted Balinese family. I hope to see you all very soon...

Closer to home, the sudden uptick in assignment work has been inspiring, uplifting but not without challenges. A three day resort shoot supposed to be wrapped up yesterday has been postponed due to construction incompletion at the site. My assistants & I arrived at the property at the designated time on Tuesday, began setting up to work on the first shot of the day, only to find it impossible to continue due to workers busily finishing up the punch list, cleaning up the construction mess, etc... The photography assignment was a rush deal needing to get in and get the place photographed before the scheduled soft opening supposed to happen last night. While at the site, we're informed that the opening has also been delayed until December 23rd, giving us almost a week to allow for the finishing touches before photography begins. Quickly regrouping and conferring with everyone's availability, the shoot has been rescheduled to take place beginning Sunday. Big thanks to First Assistant Jeffery & new, 2nd Assistant Jeff for your flexibility.

There's another advertising gig for an housing development scheduled to begin immediately after the resort assignment wraps up and a press kit and new promotional images for musician Willie K and his various musical projects scheduled for the first of the year.

In addition to all of that, I'm beginning to get a handle on the fine art sales thing during my weekly sittings at the Four Seasons Wailea Beach Resort & Spa... just in time for the onslaught of holiday guest arrivals. Work was sold again last week. Yesterday, the studio large-format printer was running on overtime getting new work ready for the framers and for shipping out to patrons.

Saturday, I'll be sharing a booth with Renee & Tony from Photographics Maui at the Art Faire being held at Whole Foods at the Maui Mall in Kahului. We'll be there from 10-4 so be sure to drop by & say Hi if you're in the neighborhood finishing up that Christmas shopping.

This morning's first email arrived from Island's Magazine PE, Lori Barbely, informing me that two images I shot the day after Thanksgiving have been green-lighted to run in a feature spread on BBQ'ing Hawaiian Style in the upcoming issue. Lori sure knows how to make someone's day right at the outset...

Also got word from my stock agency that two more sales were logged this week and royalty checks will be forthcoming soon...

Roundup From This Weeks Blogoshpere:

Over at the Reciprocity Failure Blog, today's entry was the simple, yet elegant statement:

"WikiLeaks exists because media has failed..."

Are you listening CNN?

As the latest crop of DSLR's are featuring the ability to shoot High-Def Video, still photographers are increasingly being asked by clients to provide moving images in addition to still photography. As if figuring out the estimated costs & license agreements for a standard still production aren't mind boggling enough, now we have an entirely new quagmire to negotiate. Fear not... our trusty Photo Editor, Rob Haggart, of the blog APE jumps in yesterday with a post that can shed some illumination on how to handle this new set of skills without giving up the farm. In the post Shooting Motion With Stills - How To Do It, What To Charge and What Rights To Give, Rob gets responses from five, count 'em, five established professional photographers now adding video production to their arsenal of tricks. Well worth a read....

And speaking of video production, photographer Vincent Laforet has been producing slick, well-produced video for some time now. His blog always features outstanding information and insights into the nuts & bolts of production, editing, camera configurations, essential gear and much more.

David Hobby, the brains & muscle behind the popular Strobist blog, gets his hands on the new, yet to be released Nikon SB-700 Speedlight. You can find his review here.