Ethnosphere — Ceremony & Everyday Life
Decades of travel photography, mostly made in passing — sailing crew, dive guide, wandering artist — documenting ritual, dance and daily life across the region and beyond. Click any cover to open its gallery.
Bali — Calonarang & Ngaben 562 photographs →
The Calonarang trance ceremony, depicting the demon queen Rangda's battle with the guardian spirit Barong — and Ngaben, the Hindu cremation ritual that releases the soul back to the sea. Dancers often enter trance states, wielding keris daggers in self-stabbing rituals believed to be genuine possession.
Java — Kuda Lumping
The trance horse-dance from Ponorogo, East Java — bamboo horses, gamelan, and performers who sometimes eat glass under a spiritual handler's guidance and enter genuine trance states.
Thailand 266 photographs →
Boats, canals and daily life photographed over repeated stops in Thailand.
Sunda Kelapa 10 photographs →
The old pinisi schooners of Jakarta's harbor — all motorized now, sails kept mostly for fuel-saving and balance, but still masterpieces of maritime know-how.
Sri Lanka — Buddha Tooth 49 photographs →
The Buddha Tooth Relic celebration, the Esala Perahera in Kandy.
Aden, Yemen — 1996
A stop aboard the Heraclitus after an epic Red Sea crossing — bullet-scarred walls from the '94 civil war, and the Kat market at the center of daily life.
Melanesia 28 photographs →
Ceremony and daily life across the Melanesian islands, one stop among decades of sailing this region.
Maldives 50 photographs →
Atolls and island life in the Maldives, photographed while sailing through.
Malta 191 photographs →
Streets, harbours and daily life in Malta.
Oman 31 photographs →
The coast and daily life of Oman.
Singapore 118 photographs →
Streets and harbour life in Singapore.
Egypt — Whirling Dervishes 10 photographs →
The whirling dervishes of Egypt, in ceremony.
Sulawesi 100 photographs →
Daily life and boatbuilding traditions in Sulawesi.
Cambodia 17 photographs →
Streets and daily life in Cambodia.
Mentawai 23 photographs →
Life among the Mentawai islands, off Sumatra.
Merapas Expedition 147 photographs →
A trip to a small island off Bintan with old friends — camping, a storm, and some of the healthiest coral seen in years.
