I had a flashback of portraits I had seen done by Irving Penn of Borneo and its peoples. To work in this style, I needed a backdrop. In the village not far from my hotel was a batik factory. Very primitive and simple, however the cloths it produced were elegant and exquisite. It was owned and operated by an American ex-patriot, an interesting man who drank vodka at 10 am and chain-smoked camel cigarettes. His being American made for no language barrier and it was easy for me to describe what I would like him to make. He took artistic license and produced the backdrop you see in many of these images. The backdrop was printed on a piece of large cotton canvas and rolled on a long stick of bamboo. It was fantastic!

We tied it down with the bamboo rod bending over the rooftop of my rent car then securing it to the front and rear bumpers. I used the long exposure technique I describe in my writings about portraits. It was quite remarkable that all the Balinese people I photographed were very good about being natural, still, and looking straight into the camera lens without movement. All my negatives had no blur, it was a miracle of sorts. My camera was a Hasselblad 500c/m with an 80mm planar lens. The film was Ektachrome100 iso and the aperture was between f/11 and f/16. This experience is one I carry as a dear memory deep within my heart and give my thanks to the beautiful Balinese people who participated in this project.