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Villager with large ceremonial axe, Bonarua Is, Brumer Islands, PNG <br /> <br /> The axe is probably made from the mineral jadeite, and has an intricately carved wooden handle. It is greatly treasured on the island.<br /> <br /> Ground stone axes and adzes are still in use by the people of some of the smaller islands of Melanesia and Micronesia. The hard stone is ground on a riverine rock with the help of water until it has the desired shape. It is then fixed to a natural grown angled wood handle with resin and plant fibers. The shape and manufacture of these axes and adzes is similar to those found from the Neolithic stone age in Europe. Certain ceremonial crafts such as making canoes, ceremonial shields, masks, drums, containers or communal houses, etc,. may require the use of traditional-made stone implements.<br /> <br /> A wide angle lens with flash fill (FF) was essential for photographs taken in the close confines of the village shelters.<br /> 16 mm, 1/60 sec; f/7.1; ISO 640, FF
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Villager with large ceremonial axe, Bonarua Is, Brumer Islands, PNG

The axe is probably made from the mineral jadeite, and has an intricately carved wooden handle. It is greatly treasured on the island.

Ground stone axes and adzes are still in use by the people of some of the smaller islands of Melanesia and Micronesia. The hard stone is ground on a riverine rock with the help of water until it has the desired shape. It is then fixed to a natural grown angled wood handle with resin and plant fibers. The shape and manufacture of these axes and adzes is similar to those found from the Neolithic stone age in Europe. Certain ceremonial crafts such as making canoes, ceremonial shields, masks, drums, containers or communal houses, etc,. may require the use of traditional-made stone implements.

A wide angle lens with flash fill (FF) was essential for photographs taken in the close confines of the village shelters.
16 mm, 1/60 sec; f/7.1; ISO 640, FF

  • Bewitched man, Dobu Island, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG (see below for explanation of why he was bewitched, and to see a photo of Dobu Island and some Dobu warriors click here <a href="http://goo.gl/iuu5r">http://goo.gl/iuu5r</a>)<br /> <br /> Dobu Island is one of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands, which are a group of active volcanic islands north of Papua New Guinea. In the past, Dobu Island was known throughout Melanesia for its witchcraft, headhunting and cannibalism. It was viewed with fear and awe; its people were envied for their power and influence, but also despised as barbarians. <br /> <br /> Dobu Island has always been a critical link in the kula trade that knits together the Melanesian Islands. The Kula Ring is a fascinating tradition where participants travel hundreds of miles by canoe in order to exchange Kula valuables, which consist of red shell-disc necklaces that are traded with islands to the north (circling the ring in clockwise direction) and white shell armbands that are traded in the southern direction (circling counterclockwise). All Kula valuables are traded solely for the purposes of enhancing one's social status and prestige. You can read more about this fascinating tradition, first documented by the anthropologist Bronislow Malinowski, here <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kula_ring">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kula_ring</a>.<br /> <br /> An important aspect of the Kula Ring is that the kula objects have to keep circulating. Because of the prestige associated with the objects, however, there is a temptation to try to keep them. This man was bewitched by a local sorcerer as a punishment because he broke the Kula Ring by keeping an important kula object (hence preventing it from circulating). He certainly appeared to be off his rocker, and I was told that he was expected to die within a few months from the curse. He was always on the move, muttering to himself, and hard to photograph, but I spoke a few words to him in his local language (Kagutoki sinabo'ana gosega'a, meaning roughly 'good morning, friend') and for an instant he focused on me, allowing me to get this photograph.<br /> <br /> 82 mm, 1/100 sec, f 5.6, ISO 450, flash fill
  • Baby giraffe, Ngala, South Africa<br /> <br /> This is a very young giraffe, and you can see that the umbilical cord is still attached. His little neck looks pretty short for a giraffe, too.<br /> <br /> For another view of the baby giraffe and for some nice lion pics, see here: <a href="http://goo.gl/0rWcF">http://goo.gl/0rWcF</a><br /> <br /> 290 mm, 1/1000 sec, F8, ISO 500
  • Kitten practicing its balance beam routine, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG (better at larger sizes)<br /> <br /> I couldn't decide between this photo of the kitten and the one seen here: <a href="http://goo.gl/R5WL1">http://goo.gl/R5WL1</a><br /> Any opinions? This link also shows the last of the hot springs photos
  • Green fumarole with crystals, next to a blue pool, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Island, PNG (check out the feet in the top left corner for a sense of scale)<br /> <br /> Yes there was a strong sulphur smell, and I get asthma when there is sulphur in the air (including from car fumes in polluted cities), so my challenge here was to take photographs while holding my breath :-). Don't worry, there were only a few areas with bad sulphur smells, so I escaped with no ill effects by heading up wind from the vents after taking a photo.<br /> <br /> 24 mm, 1/160 sec, f11, iSO 160<br /> <br /> For other neat photos from the hot springs, see here: <a href="http://goo.gl/jfmkj">http://goo.gl/jfmkj</a>
  • Sulphur terraces and reflections, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG<br /> <br /> 68 mm, 1/160 sec, f10, ISO 160<br /> <br /> More interesting photos of the hot springs can be seen here: <a href="http://goo.gl/tqFBF">http://goo.gl/tqFBF</a>
  • Woman walking through the steam at hot springs, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Island, PNG (better at larger sizes)<br /> <br /> Re DreamCatcher's comment there are stories handed down that speak of people jumping in, thinking to get a quick hot bath, and dying horrible, but mercifully quick deaths.<br /> <br /> According to my young guide, the water in the hot springs is boiling hot or even hotter (super heated) and the local people have favorite spots where they can go to cook their food. The woman seen through the steam and small geysers is bringing food to cook in the hot springs. My young guide is the one with the red hibiscus in his hair here: <a href="http://goo.gl/bx4BO">http://goo.gl/bx4BO</a>.
  • Spotted hyena pup standing between its mom's legs, Ngala, South Africa<br /> <br /> Hyenas are not the most charismatic animals, but watching the hyena family activities outside their den showed me that they have their tender and playful moments that belie their unsavoury reputation. <br /> Other hyena family photos are posted here: <a href="http://goo.gl/ambMQ">http://goo.gl/ambMQ</a>
  • Wrestler with two little girls, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG<br /> <br /> S. is a retired pro wrestler and the children gravitated to him wherever we went. These two little girls grabbed hold of his fingers and didn't let go once the entire walk to the hot springs. Another photo taken in the rain, which is actually better for getting good colour than bright sun.<br /> <br /> See other pics from Fergusson Island here: <a href="http://goo.gl/0u7pH">http://goo.gl/0u7pH</a>
  • Wanted: dead or alive! (best seen at large size)<br /> <br /> Happy Mother's Day to all!<br /> <br /> Spot prawn (Pandalus platyceros) season opened a couple of days ago in British Columbia, and yesterday was the spot prawn festival in Vancouver. The chefs from the famous Vancouver restaurants come down to the docks to buy right from the boats and during the festival they also give spot prawn cooking demonstrations. (These are large prawns managed strictly as a sustainable fishery). I went down to catch the boat coming in with the fresh catch of the day (left). They were so fresh they were jumping out of the bowl as I tried to photograph them. I cooked them in olive oil (first cold press oil from Arica, Chile), with fresh garlic, asparagus and parsley from my garden, quickly photographed them again, and then washed them down with a Chilean Central Coast Viognier. Yum!<br /> <br /> For a spot prawn portrait, and to see the spot prawns practicing their 'shrimp ring' routine, see here <a href="http://goo.gl/IkuLP">http://goo.gl/IkuLP</a>
  • School girls on the way to school with banana leaf umbrellas, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG<br /> <br /> The girl in the pink top is carrying her lunch, wrapped in a banana leaf, on her head. <br /> <br /> The D'Entrecasteaux Islands are a group of volcanic islands, still active, off the north eastern tip of Popua New Guinea. The people live by subsistence agriculture in small traditional villages. They have a tradition of sorcery and witchcraft, still practiced today, and headhunting and cannibalism, no longer practiced. The D'Entrecasteaux Islands are a critical link in the Kula Ring, a fascinating tradition where participants travel hundreds of miles by canoe in order to exchange Kula valuables, which consist of red shell-disc necklaces that are traded with islands to the north (circling the ring in clockwise direction) and white shell armbands that are traded in the southern direction (circling counterclockwise). All Kula valuables are traded solely for the purposes of enhancing one's social status and prestige. You can read more about this fascinating tradition, first documented by the anthropologist Bronislow Malinowski, here <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kula_ring">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kula_ring</a>.<br /> <br /> Yet again I had the challenge juggling my camera and my umbrella in the rain, with long distances to walk. Somewhere along the walk to the volcanic hotsprings (where the villagers bring their food to cook), I got a small, barely noticable, 1/2 inch long scratch on the top of my foot from a tiny thorn, which got infected and didn't heal properly for around 3 weeks, until after I got back home. This is not uncommon in the tropics where cuts and scratches heal badly. Almost everyone had problems with this; indeed, a fellow traveller narrowly missed having to be medically evacuated from an infected leg.<br /> <br /> More photos can be seen here <a href="http://goo.gl/GjVun">http://goo.gl/GjVun</a> today, and more will be posted in subsequent days, including the fascinating sorcerers and flying witches of Dobu Island.
  • Hey, that TICKles! <br /> <br /> Cape buffalo shaking off a tick bird, Ngala, South Africa. Check it out at larger sizes.<br /> <br /> See a few more cape buffalo and kudu photos here <a href="http://goo.gl/lYSos">http://goo.gl/lYSos</a>
  • Village elder, Bonarua Is, Brumer Islands, PNG<br /> <br /> It is hard to know how old this woman is, since the islanders seem to age much faster than us as they have very hard lives.<br /> <br /> Many of you have commented on how friendly the villagers seem, with wonderful smiles. When we got to the island the people were very shy and tentative. I found one who spoke English and took some time to forget about taking photos and learn a few phrases of their language like 'Good Morning', 'Are You Well', Thank You Very Much' and 'May I Take Your Photo?', etc. The transformation was amazing. People starting helping me with my pronunciation, and breaking up over my clumsy efforts, and were suddenly open and friendly. The result was the brilliant smiles you see, and the direct engagement with the camera.<br /> <br /> Other photos from this location can be seen here <a href="http://goo.gl/IQrCM">http://goo.gl/IQrCM</a><br /> <br /> 24 mm, 1/60 sec, f/7.1, ISO 640, FF
  • Woman preparing to weave a basket, Bonarua Is, Brumer Islands, PNG<br /> <br /> For making crafts, the division of labour is quite strict: women do the weaving; men do the carving. Sound familiar?<br /> <br /> Other photos from the Brumer Islands can be seen here: <a href="http://goo.gl/XSFrC">http://goo.gl/XSFrC</a><br /> <br /> 24 mm, 1/60 sec, f 7.1, ISO 640, FF
  • Villager with large ceremonial axe, Bonarua Is, Brumer Islands, PNG <br /> <br /> The axe is probably made from the mineral jadeite, and has an intricately carved wooden handle. It is greatly treasured on the island.<br /> <br /> Ground stone axes and adzes are still in use by the people of some of the smaller islands of Melanesia and Micronesia. The hard stone is ground on a riverine rock with the help of water until it has the desired shape. It is then fixed to a natural grown angled wood handle with resin and plant fibers. The shape and manufacture of these axes and adzes is similar to those found from the Neolithic stone age in Europe. Certain ceremonial crafts such as making canoes, ceremonial shields, masks, drums, containers or communal houses, etc,. may require the use of traditional-made stone implements.<br /> <br /> A wide angle lens with flash fill (FF) was essential for photographs taken in the close confines of the village shelters.<br /> 16 mm, 1/60 sec; f/7.1; ISO 640, FF
  • Portrait of a young girl, Bonarua Is, Brumer Islands, Papua New Guinea<br /> <br /> The Brumer Islands are a rarely visited group of islands off the south eastern tip of Papua New Guinea. You can find their location on the internet, but that's about it. The people live a bare subsistence living, growing what they can, with a supply ship calling every few weeks. They don't have electricity, so no worries about wires in the photos :-)<br /> <br /> The first challenge was taking photos in the rain - holding my umbrella with one hand and my camera with the other. Because there wasn't a lot of light, I used flash fill.<br /> <br /> More photos from this location can be found here, with more photos of the people of the Brumer Islands to come in the next couple of days: <a href="http://goo.gl/v8VhI">http://goo.gl/v8VhI</a><br /> <br /> 105 mm, 1/125sec, f 7.1, ISO 640, flash fill<br /> <br /> Addendum: To my eye the skin tones in the original were slightly too yellow, so I tweeked them a bit and have substituted for the file that was here earlier in in the day.
  • Thank you for your comments on the python. People seem to have diametrically opposed opinions on snakes; they either love them or hate them. <br /> <br /> Hopefully today's peaceful photo can be enjoyed by eveyone! It was taken as our ship sailed out of Port Morseby harbour during a spectacular sunset. <br /> <br /> More beautiful shots of the sunset can be seen here <a href="http://goo.gl/nq2p4">http://goo.gl/nq2p4</a><br /> <br /> Although we were safe onboard, according to a survey of world cities by The Economist, Port Morseby ranks at 139 out of 140 as the world's most unlivable city. I've spent quite a bit of time in PNG in the past, and can attest to its well-earned reputation as a dangerous and violent city, terrorized by murderous thugs they call 'raskols' (translated from Tok Pisin = rascals). See article on raskols here <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2224612/The-Gangs-New-Guinea-Chilling-photographs-street-criminals-worlds-uninhabitable-cities.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2224612/The-Gangs-New-Guinea-Chilling-photographs-street-criminals-worlds-uninhabitable-cities.html</a><br /> <br /> 17 mm, 1/20 sec, f10, ISO 180
  • Stronger than he looks - the python that is!<br /> <br /> Mike wrestling with an olive python, PNG Nature Park, Port Morseby. The eye of the python is opaque as it is about to molt.<br /> A few other photos from the PNG Nature Park (petting the python, the beautiful eyelashes of the Papuan hornbill) are here <a href="http://goo.gl/2gs2x">http://goo.gl/2gs2x</a><br /> <br /> 24 mm, 1/60 sec; f/11; ISO 250
  • Female Eclectus parrot, Papua New Guinea. The male is a bright green colour.
  • Islander and son in outrigger canoe, Kitava Island, Trobriand Islands north of the main island of Papua New Guinea<br /> <br /> Many of the islands that surround the Solomon sea are rarely visited, and have fascinating cultures; each island has a quite different culture, different ways of dressing and different ceremonies. Even the design of the dugout canoes with their outriggers differs between islands.<br /> <br /> In response to Donna's question, I was in a zodiac a few hundred meters offshore, hence the deep blue clear water. I directed the zodiac driver to position the zodiac so I could get the light direction, angle, subject matter, etc. that I wanted. <br /> <br /> I'll talk about the photographic challenges and how I handled them as I post other photos, but this trip was one of the most challenging I have taken from the photographic perspective including: remote islands with no docks, only 'wet' landings on the beaches, so photo equipment had be protected from waves; lots of bouncing around for shots taken from the water; taking photos in the rain; fogging up of camera equipment in the heat and humidity; rapid movement, e.g. the fascinating tower divers of Pentecost Island. But the biggest challenge by far was trying to deal with the extremes of light and shadows you get between 8 am and 4 pm on the equator, resulting in blown highlights and lack of detail in the shadows.
  • Sunrise with mist and reflections on a frosty morning in the wetlands, nearly Likely, British Columbia<br /> <br /> Other photos from this beautiful wilderness area can be seen here: <a href="http://goo.gl/EW7sBe">http://goo.gl/EW7sBe</a><br /> <br /> 31/12/13 <a href="http://www.allenfotowild.com">http://www.allenfotowild.com</a>

  • Donna McCommon

    on May 8, 2013

    Nice portrait!

  • DreamCatcherPhotography

    on May 7, 2013

    Beautiful image! They seem so willing to have their photo taken. The axe is gorgeous.

  • John E Enterline

    on May 7, 2013

    Great family shot and beautiful colors

  • keyphoto

    on May 7, 2013

    Very nice image. The fill flash works very well!

  • cjainmd

    on May 7, 2013

    Nice jounalistic picture! Lovely ceremonial Axe!

  • jmannimages

    on May 7, 2013

    Love their expressions - I wonder how long it takes to make an axe like that - the handle is so cool!

  • Ed Murray

    on May 7, 2013

    Terrific shot - great expressions

  • DycasStudios & CaseyElizabethPhotography

    on May 7, 2013

    Excellent shot and story.

  • arctangent

    on May 7, 2013

    This is so great. The man understands the importance of the object and takes pride in it. The older child (a girl?) seems to realize it is worth showing the axe off, but might not understand it deserves a certain reverential treatment. The younger child seems confused by the posing going on, or the situation in general.

  • papamugger

    on May 7, 2013

    awesome portriats

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