Taking a step back in time

Date: 10th March, 2012

Appointed as official photographer for the funeral of Late Lady Lealea Cakobau (Marama Radi Levuka) on tiny Bau Island southeast of Fiji. I landed on the beautiful Island without any knowledge of traditional fijian history. I share my experience touring the island and stories from the eldery residing on the island.

“That land of horror and blood” was Dr. Lyth’s description of Bau.  “That deepest hell on earth”  was the term used by Joseph Waterhouse, the first resident missionary on the island. Goose bumps rattles me with sense of fear around me.

It must be those history classes in primary school that made it hard for me to think of the island as anything but one with a lot of history and political importance beyond its size. But I’ve been told that Bau island has changed rapidly over the years. Once you step your feet in the island, it feels so peace. About 400 metres from the shoreline, the island became clearly visible. I could see the hill with lush vegetation in the middle, the white oval roof of the church and hundreds of homes squashed together by the waterfront. There are no thatched bure’s as I imagines before coming, just fancy homes with modern designs, electricity and flush toilets. It was like walking in Nausori village or Waila housing.
Towards the sea sits Delalasakau built in 1982 to accommodate Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to the island.
It looks simple from the outside but the inside looks like a 5-star suite with the kitchen and dining area on one end of the room and a huge comfy bed and a sofa on the other. A small washroom separates the two and on the outside a small veranda with chairs and a table is overshadowed by swaying palm trees.

On my way to Bau Island.

Church

Old Baka tree

 

 

Why do we get Discounts?

Photo of the week by Fiji Tattoo

Fiji Junior Master Chef 2012

It was a sunny Saturday (3rd March, 2012)  morning when I got a call from a client to do photoshoot for Fiji Junior Master Chef competition at Holiday Inn hotel in Suva. At first I wasn’t sure if this really was happening in Fiji because everynite I watch the Australian Junior Master Chef on TV and I thought this can’t be real. Glad I had my gears in my suitcase and so no need to go home.

The program was due to start at 1pm and I made my way around 2pm. I thought that this will be staged something like the Oz show but it was no where close to it. I think this was the first for Fiji so they made it simple setup.

This was the first time I been to a food cooking competition. The surroundings looks so kiddy style. I couldn’t believe these young 10 to 12 yrs kids can really cook so well. This was fantastic.

I wanted to shoot real close up the finished dish on the plate so I decided to you Canon 7D with prime 50mm. I didnt have a 17-55mm with me so I had to utilize with what I had. My other cam had a 70-200mm zoom. I thought it might be handy if I was not allowed to get closer to the junior chefs. I also had flashes mounted on both cams. I dont intent to use flash for every shot of mine but kept it on for emergency purpose. I had took some great handheld shots on slow shutter which looks amazing. I noticed the lighting problem in the hall but glad there was some sunlight bouncing inside from the side. This was a very tough situation to shoot. Tables closer to the windows where properly lit but the tables from other raw had lots lighting issues, so in many occasions I had to use the speedlight flash.

I had great experience and fun doing the shooting for Fiji Junior Master Chef 2012. More story and images will be published in March issue of MaiLife magazine. Cheers!

Back to Reality

Been away from wordpress for many months and now back to it is like coming home from prison. I came to understand now that blogging is a very important part of our life in this advanced technical world we live in. i will as of today, continue from where i left and try make this a interesting blog for you all. Hope to keep seeing you in future. Have a great day.

Sumeet Tappoo Fiji Concert Tour 2011

International singing sensation Sumeet Tappoo has captivated the hearts of hundreds of fans as he began his tour in Suva last week.
Tappoo’s tour to Fiji is in two folds.
He for the first time performs three concerts for tertiary institutions, USP, FNU and UniFiji where fans will get a taste of romantic songs and music. The other is the Bhajan Yatra tour, where he performs devotional songs and also speaks on religious topics.

I was so fortunate to be with Sumeet Tappoo group which made a successful concert tour in Fiji. Also glad to be associated with Mr. Ranjit Raju of Pacific Sounds which was also part of the entire tour. Our team with the likes of Mr. Ajen, Mr. Stanley, Mr. Ranjit and me.
First show was at USP. It was a great experience for me and it was a first time for me to be involved in such musical band group.
I was more dedicated in doing photography for the event. I also helped the sound and lighting guys as it made things workout faster. I learned alot from Ranjit (our main sound guy).
Through out this tour, I have made so many new friends over the facebook. Many of them I have already meet and are in touch via chats and emails.
It was a hectic week but our team work made it pull through. Thats the bottom line lol.
Everyone who came to the shows were fully satisfied and blessed with all devotional gazals.
Thank you Sumeet Tappoo…. hoping to see you again next year even better and bigger.

Boring Sunday

Bula,

I just configured my iPhone to post blogs. This is more like a test post. I hope this gets updated online. Let’s go and check lol.

Cheers.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Home

Welcome to my Blog

Hello everyone,

Finally I managed to get this running. I was working on my website http://www.photobure.com and it not yet fully complete. I’m still trying to get more familiar with the settings and layout and hope all will be fine soon.

I will be using this blog to update my photography events and experiences. I hope you all will enjoy my company.

Stay in touch!

Cheers 🙂