This week’s episode took place in Bali, a beautiful holiday destination with amazing beaches famous for great surfing and diving. Bali is known as the “Island of God” and it is here that the Indonesian contestants competed for the best shot.

The three Indonesian amateur photographers who participated this week were Adhitaya Wbhawa (34), Made Yudistira (34), and Kennardi Sebastian (16). As always, pro-photographer Justin Mott was there to show off his expertise in every challenge.

Monkeys’ Play

The first challenge tested the contestants’ ability to capture a good shot in 10 minutes and took place in the Monkey Forest, infamous for its local primate residents. The contenders had to photograph the monkeys and include them in their picture in any way. As long as a monkey was in the picture, it was totally open to the photographer’s own interpretation and creativity.

They were given a CANON G3X with 25X zoom so that they could get close-ups, giving the contestants the ability to capture our primate cousins’ most intimate details. If you have been to the park, you know that you can get really close to the monkeys anyway, as they are so used to seeing tourists and getting food from them, that in some cases, you can literally photograph their noses. You just have to be careful, because they may try to get the camera from you – another unplanned obstacle for the unknowing competitors!

The best photo was undoubtedly Justin’s as he snapped a shot of a monkey and managed to fill the frame with it. The color had a slightly bluish tint which I think took away from the shot, but the detail in the photo elevated the quality and the fact that the monkey completely filled the frame meant that it was a photo you found yourself coming back to many times. While Justin created something that captured the audience’s attention with an unusual perspective of a seemingly simple subject, the other photos were not that special and Adhi, who won the challenge, did so with a photo with beautiful lighting, but too much fur and confusion.

Ken was last and although his photo wasn’t anything particularly special, his behavior throughout, as he played the role of ‘overconfident teen’ made for spectacular entertainment.

The judge was professional photographer Tommy Schulz, who provided the contestants with important advice. What he mentioned, which I have to agree with, is that the difference between a good and a great photo is a fraction of a second.

Black & White Balinese Beauty

The second challenge “Bali in Black & White” was also open and left to the photographer’s creativity. They were given a bike as transportation and had to go to a minimum of two places and capture something authentic to Bali. They were given a G7X Powershot, which would help them get an impeccable black and white. Black and white photos can be challenging and in my experience these are some of the factors to consider when shooting in black and white:

• Look for interesting shapes and forms to add interest to the photo.
• Emphasize contrast to bring out different elements, for example: by shooting against the light or against a light background.
• Find and emphasize patterns, especially subtle ones, which in black and white show even more detail.
• Mixing textures in the shot makes for more interesting composition.
• Finally, the most crucial step is to keep track of the light and make sure it works in your favour to show the details I have mentioned above. Light is always the most important aspect to any picture.

Made’s photo was undoubtedly the best – I loved it – it was great in all aspects of photography and by far manipulated the black and white feature most effectively. However, his photo could have been taken anywhere in Asia, and did not reflect the Balinese culture as was required in the brief, so, he was disqualified. It is in these scenarios where you wonder if the entertainment value of the show has once again robbed a photograph of deserving the praise it deserves.

Justin’s photo was OK – light and composition were great, but it lacked emotion. The man holding the rooster was very stiff, and was clearly posed, which took away from its authenticity.

Adhi’s photo was good, it showed a traditional Balinese ceremony, Balinese clothing, and a Balinese background but not the best black and white skill. He got a higher score than anybody else and won the challenge, being the only one who took the Balinese requirement the most literally. I am unsure if this win was well deserved. Ken’s photo followed the brief, but the composition was very poor (again!) but since Made was out of the picture, he qualified for to the last challenge.

Surfing Photography

The last challenge, in typical Photo Face-Off fashion, was an extreme surf photography challenge. Photographer Mick Curley, an aged surf photographer was the judge for this challenge and gave a few quick tips, something most photographers would need – we don’t all get the chance to photograph in the water! The most important ones were:

• Get to know the surfers personally, their styles, their movements and manoeuvres.
• Ask for the weather and wave conditions to anticipate situations, and prepare yourself for the conditions and how they would affect your photos.
• Watch out for the composition. Don’t take shots that are too close; you want to see the wave and the movement.
• Position yourself correctly, half a meter in the wrong direction and you won’t get the surfer.
• Safety first, a great shot is not worth your physical integrity

This was a very exciting challenge. As Justin was saying, it was like being on top of the wave. They did not take the photos from the beach, they were driven on a skijet to an area very close to the wave. The competitors had to anticipate the action as they couldn’t give any direction to the surfers, truly testing their ability to photograph spontaneously.

All three photos were well executed. Ken won the challenge with a very sharp photo, bright colors and great composition. You could even see an intense look in the surfer’s face, incorporating various elements into his final photo to finally show his ability.

Adhi’s photo was great, a very close second in my opinion, the color of the water was nice, but you couldn’t see the surfer’s board and some color to guide your attention to the subject was missing in the composition. Also the surf maneuver was not as intense and exciting as in Ken’s photo.

Justin’s photo was also quite intense, but you couldn’t see the surfer’s face and the base of the wave was cut, so you don’t really see how big and ferocious the wave was and it also didn’t put the maneuver into perspective.

With these results, Ken qualified for the big finale that will take place next week (Oct. 27) in Cebu, Philippines. In this episode, Justin stops competing and becomes one of the main judges, it promises to be an exciting episode. Photo Face-Off  is shown every Tuesday  at  10PM  (SIN/HK) on History Channel.

To learn more about photography and sign up for one of our workshops, go to http://grafikaphotographydesign.com/workshops.html.

Visit Grafika Photography and Design page to find out more about Helga’s work.

_{This post was originally published on Grafika Photography & Design blog and has been reposted on Executive Lifestyle with the permission of the author.
Images: Photos by History, Grafika Photography, and TV screen shots.}

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