On being a photographer in Bali | Exploring Indonesia

How I became a photographer in Bali. March is great for a break

The wedding season has not properly started yet, and last year’s work are (almost) done and delivered. I decided to follow my sister to Yogyakarta, where she was going to speak at an international conference about tourism. Despite being less known, Yogyakarta is a very interesting city in the middle of the island of Java. Not far from Yogya there is one of the most amazing UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Borobudur temple. Built in the 9th century, abandoned for ages and brought back to light more than a thousand years later.
Being a photographer in Indonesia, I of course wanted to see everything at the best time of day. The choice to see Borobudur at sunrise made the visit even more special: it is hard to capture even in a photo how beautiful the blues, reds and pinks were. And then the view over the jungle surrounding the temple and the volcanoes, farther away.

Photographing all the beauty and contradictions of Bali

After a couple of days in Java we took a flight to Bali, arguably the most famous island in Indonesia. The Hindu heritage and the peculiar traditions make Bali unique among the 13 thousand island of Indonesia. It is full of Australian surfers and holistic centers teaching yoga. Coming from Venice, I am very good at avoiding the tourist traps, so I am not going to recommend hipster cafès in Bali.

If you are planning to go, I instead recommend to spend as much time as possible with a local driver or a professional tour guide. A chat with our driver provided us with a fun look at how tourists are perceived (“You are the first Italians that are nice to me” said Ketut) and even though he was not a certified tour guide, his opinions were very valuable. He told us that Bali had to put some limits to foreign capitals and it is now illegal for foreigners to buy a house and own properties, otherwise the island would probably be sold in a minute. The insider view is always precious.

Bali is so beautiful I couldn’t go home without a Bali photoshoot. As a couple photographer, I found the perfect couple in Bali for my purpose: expats from Ukraine, Alyona and Nikita. They told me about their love story and they traveled with me to the best spots of the island.