Four Photographers Document Cockfights

Here's a feature which groups individual photo essays of cockfighting by four photographers. I thought of grouping these essays, and also mention my own. Two of the cockfights occur in the Philippines, one in Haiti and the fourth occurs in Bali.

Photo © Julie Batula-All Rights Reserved

The first photo essay is Julie Batula's One Way Out; a photo essay of black & white photographs of cockfighting or sabong as it's called in the Philippines, where it's one of the oldest and most popular sports.

As Julie says: "Roosters continue fighting because they cannot escape, regardless of how exhausted or injured they become. It is a routine where they are forced to fight or die, and where death is the only way out."

Julie Batula is a Manila-based artist and documentary photographer, who is influenced by the works of Sally Mann and Nan Goldin.

Photo © Mitchell Kanashkevich-All Rights Reserved

The second photo essay (it's more of a multi-photo blog post) is by one of my favorite travel photographers: Mitchell Kanashkevich. He tells us he was riding a motorcycle to the city of Dumaguette in the Philippines and came by an area where cockfights were from morning till midnight everyday for a few days.

Mitchell Kanashkevich is a travel/documentary photographer, and is represented by Getty Images. He's been featured on this blog a number of times.

Photo © Swoan Parker-All Rights Reserved

The third photo essay is by Swoan Parker who features a 16 color photographs in a photo essay titled "Place Your Bets" of cockfights in Haiti.

Swoan Parker is a freelance photojournalist based in New York City available for global assignment. Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, The Los Angeles Times, Newsday, TIME, and National Geographic Traveler among others.



The final photo essay is mine, and is titled Tajen. It was photographed on the island of Bali last August.

Bali: Odalan at Pura Desa Sapat

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Here's the first gallery of my own work whilst I was leading the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition™ last month.

It's a linear photo gallery of about 20 large color photographs made during an important anniversary of a Balinese Hindu temple, and it's titled Odalan: Pura Desa Sapat. It's more photo journalistic in style than travel, and there are graphic photographs of animals being sacrificed, which may be disturbing to some.

This was one of the two most intense photo-shoots during the whole photo~expedition...not only because of the time spent photographing, but also because of the unending kaleidoscope of movements, rituals, rites and activities.

Every temple in Bali has a scheduled festival, an odalan, to celebrate the anniversary of temple dedication. The timing of the anniversaries are either based on the lunar calendar or on a 210-day ceremonial cycle. Depending on the importance of the anniversary and on the wealth of its community, animals are occasionally sacrificed.

These anniversary events are important for the communal harmony of the Balinese, where villages will join other villages to pray at their odalan, adding their blessings for the success of the occasion.

John Stanmeyer: Bali Island of Spirits

Excerpted from VII's press release announcing John Stanmeyer's new book Bali: Island of Spirits:

Spirits are everywhere in Bali. Balinese spiritual culture has its roots in Indian Hinduism, Buddhism and ancient animist beliefs, first originating in East Java. Centuries-old ceremonies with deeply layered rituals are very much alive today. John Stanmeyer spent five years living in Bali, creating this reportage through the uninhibited and timeless lens of a Holga. His photographs capture practices from decades past, transcending the temporal as they live on today and into the unforeseen future.

Details on the reception and book signing:

Artist reception and book signing will be held September 16, 2010, 6 - 8:30pm at the VII Gallery located in Brooklyn at 28 Jay St. (F-York St), and open Mon-Fri from 10am to 6pm.

A PDF version of the book's description and details of the reception is here.

Penni Webb: Bali Island of Odalan

Photo © Penni Webb-All Rights Reserved
Penni Webb is a second time participant in my photo~expeditions, and is the sixth to submit samples of her work made during the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition ™.

Penni is a professional photographer as well as an Interior Designer and Organizer in Marin, California. She has an MA from the SFAI in Printmaking, learned Photography at California College of the Arts and worked with several Master Photographers such as Phil Borges.

Her first photograph is of Rejang dancers during a pre-cremation ceremony at a private house. The girl in the middle was a natural...and loved to pose for cameras. Rejang dancers are usually young females, dressed in bright yellow and white silk and headdresses made from fresh young coconut leaves decorated with flowers. The Rejang dancers represent the female angels who accompany deities.

Photo © Penni Webb-All Rights Reserved
The above photograph is one that was made by most of the group's members, and is of an elderly Balinese matriarch returning to her traditional home after having emptied a basket of morning offerings, known in Bali as canang.

Photo © Penni Webb-All Rights Reserved
The third photograph is of a Balinese woman snapping a picture with her cellphone of three Rejang dancers during a during a melasti ceremony at Masceti beach.

Before starting her business in 1999, she managed and directed contemporary art and antique galleries and was a photographer for a large event & film company in Oakland. Her hand-painted photography work is represented by Smith Andersen North in San Anselmo where she had a solo show in 2008. She has exhibited her photographs and prints nationally since 1974.

Bo Jungner: Bali Island of Odalan

Photo © Bo Jungner -All Rights Reserved
Bo Jungner is a first time participant in my photo~expeditions, and is the fourth to submit samples of his work made during the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition ™.

Bo holds a MSc in Business Administration and Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics and works for a Swedish-based private equity company. He's also a photography enthusiast who joined my group whilst in Bali with his family.

When I first saw the above photograph of a Rejang dancer adjusting her headgear during a melasti ceremony, I told Bo that it was my favorite I had seen from his portfolio. I still think it is.

Photo © Bo Jungner -All Rights Reserved
The second photograph may repel some of the viewers, but washing skeletons is what happens during the exhumation which precedes a cremation in Bali. The whole event is a joyous one for the Balinese as the cremation of the body leads to the release of the soul, and brings final closure to the families. We were photographing in a small village in the Gianyar Regency, and spent some 6-7 hours shooting non-stop under a merciless sun. It was one of the most intense photo shoots during the expedition.

Photo © Bo Jungner -All Rights Reserved
This photograph is of a group of young Rejang dancers during a pre-cremation ceremony at a private house. We were welcomed, and feted like old friends by the family of the deceased, and welcomed by the whole neighborhood. The first dancer was really very comfortable with the cameras, and posed for us very professionally despite her young age.

Photo © Bo Jungner -All Rights Reserved
Here Bo photographed the preparation for a cockfight which was to take place on a beach during a temple odalan. Normally, cockfights in Bali are illegal unless these are connected to temple ceremonies.

Sandy Chandler: Bali Island of Odalan

Photo © Sandra Chandler -All Rights Reserved
A third-time participant in my photo-expeditions (The Gnawa in Morocco, Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat, and Bali Island of Odalan), Sandra Chandler is a photographer and interior designer based in San Francisco. She tells us that color, smells and sounds drew her to world travel. Her city's Asian culture first enticed her to China in 1978 when the People’s Republic first opened. She then continued her exploration of Asia by traveling to Bhutan, India, Japan, Singapore, Nepal, Thailand, Tibet, and on to South America and Europe.

The above photograph was made at one of the many odalan anniversary celebrations in Bali during our trip. The musicians play traditional instruments such as the gamelan, and are called upon to perform at many functions, including weddings and cremations.

Photo © Sandra Chandler -All Rights Reserved
The above photograph was made during the Legong dance perfomance at the Ubud Place, and is of the Baris. The Baris is a traditional war dance of the island, in which a male dancer depicts the feelings of a young warrior prior to battle.

Photo © Sandra Chandler -All Rights Reserved
This photograph was made at an odalan held in a forest setting, near the village of Birta. Here, female pemangku are surrounded by incense (known as dupa) smoke used to appease the spirits and accompany offerings at all temple ceremonies.

Photo © Sandra Chandler -All Rights Reserved
The adorable grand-daughter of a wayang kulit (shadow puppet master) was a willing subject for Sandy's lens. We spent about 3 hours at the home of I Wayan Martha, the shadow puppeteer, in Sukawati where he and his assistants gave us a private performance of this traditional Javanese/Balinese tradition.

Sandy also published a book ‘Carnevale, Fantasy of Venice' of her beautiful photographs of Venice and its magical Carnevale.