On Earth with the Gods – On seeing in Bali

Posted by Tanya Allport on Jun 28, 2015 in Travel | No Comments

“Seeing” in Bali is the study of harmony – more than a composition, or cropped arrangement that takes place behind a camera lens, harmony can be found in every tangible and non-tangible aspect of life, where the Balinese worldview revolves around the “Tri Hita Karana”: harmony among people, harmony with nature and harmony with God.

A photography tour took me from Ubud to Tampak Siring to photograph Gunug Agung and Gunug Batur, active volcanoes dominating the skyline behind the rice paddies; to local market places bustling with early morning shopping and gossip; to surprisingly urbanesque underground walkways, populated by graffiti and groups of teenagers; and to coffee plantations revealing life teeming in every bush and tree.

“Don’t talk about heaven if you haven’t been to Bali”, advises Indonesian poet Toba Beta, and with good reason: in Bali you feel like you are walking with the gods.

Sunrise at Mount Agung