Beautiful Balinese

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Indonesia | Monday, August 16, 2010 | 5 photos

At age 55 I re-invented myself by exiting the corporate world and became a successful novelist. At age 61 I discovered the fascinating world of photography and the bug bit hard and it is now time to re-invent myself once again. I am taking a diploma course in photography and am determined that by combining my writing skills with my newly developing photographic skills, I will succeed in a new career of photo-journalism. At 62 years young, and still climbing mountains, I am fortunately fit enough to pursue this goal. I see my photography, combined with my writing, as the perfect mix to touch people’s hearts about the plights of our fellow human beings who may not be as well off as we are. I am staggered to find that we, the privileged in the western world account for a tiny proportion of the world’s population. The majority of people in the world today live in abject poverty. I am also passionate about the plight of animals and hope that through images and words, I may be able to lend a voice to those without a voice.
The photographs I have submitted for consideration in this scholarship, hopefully tell the story of a small island called Bali. They tell the story of friendly, happy people who by our western standards of materialism should have no reason to be happy. These are people who work all day, seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year without respite, but who are happy to be alive in their island paradise. In their religious beliefs, dogs are reincarnated robbers who have been given the opportunity to make good the crimes they committed in a previous life. The stray dogs of Bali are a sad sight indeed, and yet they too are survivors.