Baining Fire Dancer, Rabaul, PNG
This is a photo of a Baining Fire Dancer performing a ritual dance which they have been doing for many centuries in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. ...
Read more
This is a photo of a Baining Fire Dancer performing a ritual dance which they have been doing for many centuries in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea.
Read less
Read less
Jul, 2016Views
1296
Likes
Awards
Contest Finalist in Travel Photography Project
Winner in Ethnic Photography Photo Challenge
Summer Selection
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
All Star
Genius
Emotions
Happy
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank week 1
Top 30 rank
Top 30 rank week 1
Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 2
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
Taken in Rabaul, East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea, an amazing island full of WW2 history due to the fact it was the Japanese strong hold Port during their invasion on PNG.Time
This is obviously a night time shot of a Baining Fire Dancer, the Bainings live in the mountain area of Rabaul East New Britain, PNG. The Fire Dance is only one of many dances the Bainings perform, each one is very different with completely different costume or Billus as it is known in PNG. This particular dance performed only by men is done in a trance like state from chewing Beatle Nut " Buai" they are accompanied by a group of men sitting nearby chanting in their local tongue with Kundu drums and lengths of wood which they beat the end into the ground in rhythm. The dancers are instructed by the chanting when to run through the fire in which they take in turns, each time they do it is celebrated by the villagers cheers and yelps who circle the performance by the hundreds. I can highly recommend PNG as not only a photographic mecca but one of the most unique diverse places I have ever experienced to date from my world travels, one third of the planets languages are spoken in PNG, that's 830+ different languages in one country !Lighting
This was a difficult image as far as lighting goes ...for me anyhow....I wanted to light up the subject which was very dark so I needed to use some flash and at the same time I didn`t want to over cook the flash and lose the effect of the sparks and fire, I also had to make sure I was upwind so the smoke didn`t spoil the view which would also become a white haze when lit by flash. I chose shutter priority 1/200 to capture the movement as best as I could, the ISO was 2000, I was on f/4 and struggling with auto focus due to poor light so I chose where I knew the dancer...hoped..would be and focused and waited for the right time and as luck would have it he came through the fire directly towards me on this shot. You cant beat that 1/200 second feeling when you know you caught it but hope the exposure is right ! To date it`s one of my favourite images of mine, far from my technical best but to witness something as unique as this and being one of a very small handful of Europeans present made it very memorable and to capture a good image was the icing on the cake.Equipment
Canon 5D M3, Canon EF 28-105 mm, Canon 600-EX-RT Speedlight, hand held 1/200, f/4, ISO 2000Inspiration
This was just one of many events held over a five day period annually in Rabaul for the Rabaul Frangipani Festival. I had heard about the Baining Fire Dancers and knew it would make for some exciting shooting and wasn`t disappointed. The festival is full of amazing cultural events which are performed by various different villages and clans from the coast to the highlands and are all very different except they are all spectacular feasts of colour, sound and movement. The people are beautiful and welcoming and love to be photographed, especially if you show them their photo, much giggling and laughter and " thank yu tru " from beautiful smiling faces.Editing
Only basic post editing, cropped, and tweaked contrast and highlights.In my camera bag
It depends on where I`m going as to what ill carry but as a rule ...as much as I can ! We all know whatever we don`t take is what we will end up needing sadly. My basic kit is two bodies, Canon 5DM3, and 5D SR, my go to lens is Canon EF 28-300 mm, very handy and versatile although very heavy. Other lenses all Canon EF models, 100-400, 16-35mm, fisheye 8-15 mm. If I think I may be doing macro ill pack my EF 180 mm macro and twin flash. I usually carry my Speedlight 600-EX-RT also and tripod, light weight if long walks and tracking are the order of the day, and a trusty small torch and mosquito repellent as I live in the tropics and I have done a lot of travelling where Malaria is an issue and luckily to date have not fallen victim.Feedback
As far as capturing the image technically I have answered above ...not really techy this image anyhow. But I would like to add that if your fortunate enough to travel as I have been, try to pick some off the radar locations like PNG, you will be rewarded for taking the adventure and risks beyond your imagination. You cant beat the feeling of seeing and photographing something that not many have, it sure beats another photo of Bali !! :)
