Category Archives: Art

Indonesia day 4. A cultural interlude at the palace…

18 Saturday Jan 2025

Posted by in Art, Indonesia, Photography, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Today we visited the Kraton, the palace of the Sultans of Yogyakarta. It’s an impressive, sprawling place where it’s easy to get lost in the multitude of courtyards. The buildings are impressive, but what was even more so today was listening to the gamelan musicians playing. Javanese gamelan music is much more formal than that of Bali (which is far more exuberant) and – as you’d expect from musicians playing in a palace – it’s more formal. That said, it’s also lovely to listen to. Here’s one of the shots I took of them playing.

Later, the orchestra provided the music for a dance troupe who appeared to be re-enacting stories from Hindu times. Not quite what you’d perhaps expect to find in a Muslim Sultan’s palace. The dancers costumes were incredibly colourful and the dancing reminded me of some of the Balinese traditional dances, where eye and finger position is paramount.

They were a delight to watch, even if you hadn’t got a clue what the story was! You can find more palace pictures by following this link.

We stayed for several hours, then retreated back to the hotel to relax, enjoy some sun and (in my case) spend a few hours picture editing before planning more of the next phase of our trip. I also booked tickets for a visit to Borobodour and Prambenan in the morning. We’ve an early start, so this blog’s only short as a consequence, but expect more cultural pictures tomorrow.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

10th October picture of the day…

10 Thursday Oct 2024

Posted by in Art, Nottingham, Photography, Picture of the day

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

I’ve enjoyed a train-free day today. No delays, no uncertainties – just the ability to have a bit of a much needed lie-in after so many early starts.

Most of today has been spent at home, editing hundreds of pictures from this last week’s jobs. There’s a diverse selection – as you’ll see if you visit my Zenfolio website (just follow this link) and there’s many more to come. Editing aside, there’s also writing to be done. So, whilst Dawn’s been up to her neck in work downstairs I’ve been doing the same upstairs.

Mind you, today’s been a good day to be stuck indoors. Whilst I was casting envious eyes at the sunshine that wasn’t predicted it soon caught up with the forecast. We ended up with heavy rain and a hailstorm, whilst the mercury spent most of the day hiding in the bottom of the barometer.

However, late this afternoon the pair of us knocked-off in order to travel over to Dee’s parents near Huddersfield to share an evening meal. Now we’re back at home having a quiet night in.

Meanwhile, here’s today’s picture which was taken in Nottingham the other day whilst I was waiting for the conference to start. The city’s a big university town so there’s a lot of young people and a lot of street art. Hence this picture catching my eye. Street art and trams summing up Nottingham.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Asian adventure day 48. Georgetown day 16.

27 Monday Feb 2023

Posted by in Art, Georgetown, Malaysia, Photography, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

I’d thought of a visit to one of the beaches around Batu Ferrenghi on Penang’s North coast today but when I got up this morning the weather was overcast and the threat of rain was very much in the air. So, plan B it was then which meant having a far more chilled time and not subjecting my healing back/bum to the hard plastic seats on the local buses. Instead, I spent much of the morning editing and captioning some of the backlog of travel pictures I have in order to get them onto my picture website. You can find them here.

There’s a lot more to add but I’ve always got to balance the time taking them to the time editing them, especially as the former can only be done in one place and the latter anywhere. Tomorrow’s my last full day in Georgetown before catching the train back South to KL (Kuala Lumpur). I’ve mixed feelings about that as I’m very happy here. I’ve always loved this place, but I know I can’t stay here forever. I’ve spent hours and walked miles exploring the streets which has been fabulous – as have the people because the overwhelming majority (from whatever original nationality) are so friendly. Make eye-contact and smile and you’ll get a smile back – or even a wave and ‘hello mister’. Do that in the UK and many people will think you’re some kind of nutter. It’s the same with photography. Most people on motorcycles will wave and grin if they see you’re taking a photograph. Here’s an example from the food fair I went to a couple of days ago.

This picture was entirely unforced. I just happened to be walking past their stall and they saw my camera pointing towards them so responded positively. That’s one of the things I like about this part of the world.

Tonight I’d nipped out for some local street food. Char Kway Teow (stir-fry noodles) and ended up sharing a table with a young Indian guy. Whilst be waited for our food to arrive we struck up a conversation. It turned out he lives in Mumbai. He’s in his early twenties and works on the Indian oil and gas rigs as an engineer. They do 28 days on, 28 days off and as he’s young, footloose and fancy-free he spends much of his time travelling. He’s in Georgetown for a few days before heading up to Bangkok and then Vietnam. As I’ve done the same route we swapped travel tips and talked about places we both know in India. It’s yet another example of why I really enjoy this cultural melting pot and international crossroads. We were so busy talking that I forgot to take a picture of this signature Malaysian meal, but I’m sure I’ll have it again before I leave.

Now it’s time to have a quiet night in, my penultimate one in Georgetown (on this trip, anyway) before heading South. Still, you can see some more of the pictures I’ve been busy adding to my Zenfolio site by following this link.

There’s so much that I could write about and pictures that I could show you but times limited. It would be so very easy to write a book about this place. In the interim, I’m going to leave you with another bit of street art that references world war 2 but also a cartoon strip in the iconic 1960s ‘Mad’ magazine which I used to read second-hand thanks to my brother, Dave. Plus, it’s about photography, so it scores full points with me.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Asian adventure day 36. Georgetown day 4.

15 Wednesday Feb 2023

Posted by in Art, Georgetown, Malaysia, Photography, Travel

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Tonight’s blog won’t be a long one as I’ve other things to do, such as continue to wade through editing loads more pictures to get onto my Zenfolio website. It’s a bit like painting the Forth Bridge, as soon as you’ve finished one batch it’s time to start on the new ones you’ve just taken. The latest batch of Malaysian travel pictures can be found here.

Today’s been a relatively easy one here in Georgetown, apart from the fact I’ve picked up an injury which is quite literally a pain in the arse (stop sniggering at the back!). It happened just before I left Thailand. My camera backpack isn’t exactly light, anything but, it’s in double figures when it comes to kilos and when temperatures are in the very high 30’s you don’t fancy wearing it over both shoulders and with a belly-strap. That may well have been my undoing – in more ways than one. I suspect I’ve bruised my gluteus maximus or medius (the muscles in your backside) which I did over 25 years ago with my old Billingham camera bags. It’s why I switched to backpacks. The problem is the pain makes it uncomfortable to sit or bend forwards – hardly the ideal thing when you’re travelling. Actually, the sitting isn’t a problem. It’s getting up afterwards! Typically, it would happen when I’ve left Thailand, a country chock-a-block with people offering massages!

I’m hoping a several days where I’m not carrying the camera bag – just individual bits of kit – will allow it to rest, but these things can take time and I’m not getting any younger. Still, it was always my intention to settle here for a while in one of my ‘happy places’, it just might be for a bit longer than I thought! It’s not an issue as I had no plans after here other than nipping back into Thailand for a while. My main ambition was to meet up with my niece and her husband and that’s been achieved. They’re both loving Georgetown and will be here until Sunday, so no problem.

Today I moved hotels and returned to another old haunt, the Star Lodge in Jalan Muntri. Many of the old backpacker establishments have closed as the gentrification of the area continues and travellers go more upmarket. Covid’s had a huge impact of course, but so’s the fact many younger people are more ‘flashpackers’ than backpackers. The Star’s clientele is almost exclusively older travellers like me who’ve been doing this stuff for years. Folk who don’t mind simple accommodation but quite enjoy a common area where you can sit together and talk rather than just stare at your smartphone.

In the next few days I’ll write an entire blog about the changes I’m seeing in Georgetown and the travelling scene in the 30-odd years I’ve been coming here. One of today’s projects was to look at old photos I’ve taken of buildings and street-scenes and try to capture the same shot in 2023 to show the difference.

Right now it’s time to leave you with a couple of pictures for your delectation.

Two of the older bars on Lebuh Chulia. The Hong Kong bar on the left has been going forever, but styles are changing. I remember passing it 1992 when it was rammed with American sailors as ‘the fleet was in’. Geopolitics has changed since then (as has the size of the British navy, another bar stalwart) so such visits are rare and the bar doesn’t appeal to a younger generation who’re packing the newly opened establishments in Love Lane and further down Chulia. The ‘Mona Liza’ was an old haunt of mine. Its street facing wicker chairs were ideal for sitting and sipping a beer with camera in hand whilst watching out for photographic opportunities. It was also a favourite of the local expat community, but it too seems quiet now. I wonder if they’ll both still be here in a few years time?
One of the many clever steel rod arts features that scatter the world heritage site of old Georgetown. They’re metalwork cartoons that tell the story of the area with history and humour. They’ve been commissioned by the local municipality and started appearing in 2010. There’s actually a map you can get that allows you to see where they all are. I got one for Charlotte and now she’s ticking them off with enthusiasm! There’s currently 52, all designed by some excellent Malaysian artists/cartoonists.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

29th November picture of the day…

29 Monday Nov 2021

Posted by in Art, Bali, Indonesia, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

‘Tis been a cold start to a new week here in the Pennines. The snow’s stayed around all day as temperatures have never really got above freezing. I’ve not been too concerned as today was always going to be one where I was chained to the office because I had an article to finish writing for a magazine – and supply all the pictures, which kept me occupied until after early afternoon checking quotes and captions. I didn’t even manage to get out for my usual daily tour of the town in order to get some exercise. I figured I’d make up for that later in the week when conditions underfoot aren’t so treacherous. Besides, I’ve got a jaunt to London in the pipeline and needed to clear the decks of paperwork first. So, I can’t complain, I’ve had a productive, if claustrophobic day – and stayed warm, which has been a bonus!

Having finished my programme of work and with the world outside looking decidedly monotone I decided to add a splash of colour to my day by scanning a small batch of old slides from a place that’s anything but black and white: The island of Bali, which has supplied the picture of the day. This was taken in Ubud, the town widely regarded as the cultural capital of the island in December 1994.

Here’s a young woman performing the Legong dance. The dance is considered one of the island’s most revered classical pieces, known for its physically demanding postures and fast-paced movements which require a significant level of flexibility among its generally young female performers. As you can see, the costumes are incredibly rich in style and colour- an ideal subject for photography, even if it was a technical challenge with the slow-speed slide film I was using in those days!

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

25th October picture(s) of the day…

25 Monday Oct 2021

Posted by in Architecture, Art, London, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

It’s been a quiet start to the week here in Bigland Towers as the pair of us have been slaving over hot computers, ploughing through work that needs to be done. It was a shame as the weather was far better than was forecast. I could have been out with the camera working on another project I need to complete – but ho hum. What matters is that things are getting done as I need to clear the decks (and my desk) before Friday. To that end, scanning old slides is having to take a backseat once more, despite the fact I’ve only a handful of pages left to scan in the present album in the queue. Writing for money has to take precedence!

That means tonight’s pictures are last trip down memory lane for a little while, but I think it’s a good one…

Today’s pictures were taken in East London way back in 1993. This anonymous house, the last survivor of its terrace was number 193 Grove Road. The chap who resided there was a retired docker named Sydney Gale who’d lived in the property since 1939 and he wasn’t happy with the council, who were rehousing him in order to demolish the property to incorporate the land into a new park – hence the protest placard across the top windows. I was developing an interest in the changing face of the East End, housing issues and photography, and so one day in April I stopped to document the house. Little did I know just how famous, or contentious, the building was to become….

When Sydney finally departed a temporary lease was granted by the council so that a little-known artist could turn it into a temporary, full-sized sculpture. The artist was called Rachael Whiteread…

Whiteread made a full-sized cast of the inside of all three levels of the the property using thin, reinforced concrete, then tore down the original building to leave the cast of the interior still standing. ‘House’ as the sculpture was simply titled was unveiled to the public in October 1993 and generated a huge amount of publicity, both positive and negative. It was loved and loathed in equal measure. I stopped by one foggy morning in November to take these pictures. The fog seemed to make the building even more poignant.

‘House’ was always intended to be temporary, but there was a petition started to save it and even a motion in the House of Commons, but a prominent local Councillor hated it. ‘House’ won Whiteread the Turner prize on the 23rd November 1993. The very same day the council voted to demolish it. It was flattened in January 1994 and no trace of it remains. You can read more about ‘House’ here.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!