Tranquillity

This image was taken in 2004 on the island of Bali at 5am in the morning.
The trip to Bali really changed my life and the way I viewed just about everything I had been doing in the past both as a photographer and in my own personal life. I see in this picture a great sense of loneliness as that's how I was feeling in my personal life at the time. I used to get out of bed on these trips to far off destinations and wander around the beaches and hotels at sunrise with no one to talk to or no one to share what I was seeing or feeling. The only way I could show people what I was seeing and feeling was to take a photograph. These however invariably fell on "deaf ears" or eyes that seemed impervious to what was going on at the time.
As an image I think this has all the elements a picture needs. Everything in the right place at the right time. I remember watching the fisherman complete his mornings work and just relaxing in the pagoda looking out onto a scene that was definitely very familiar to him, one he had probably viewed every day of his life. He seems so relaxed in his surroundings, so at peace with nature and his environment. I often wonder what his life at home was like. Was he eeking out an existence, was he contented with everything he had in life? It seems as though "western" values of possessions and status are a million miles from his life as indicated by the ubiquitous bicycle that most Asians prefer as their mode of transport. To me for a while I envied that fisherman for everything he had and would willingly have traded places with him. I also feel there is a great deal of spirituality created by this image. I found many of the scenes and experiences in Bali to be some of the most spiritual moments of my life.
There is no technical data to this shot. It is quite simply a snapshot of life. I chose to present the image in black and white to allow the viewer to imagine their own colours and also to try to create a timeless feel to the image, something I believe can only be achieved with a black and white image.