Most of my photo tours to Indonesia include the Jember Fashion Carnaval because the costuming and face painting is so incredible. A few years ago they began including a night parade, and that inspired participants to get even more creative. Here I was able to capture the phenomenal fire breathing of one of the costumed young men. The challenge as a photographer was to balance the exposure between the artificial lights lining the parade route with the brilliant intensity of the fire. The last thing I wanted was to overexpose the fire and lose all that great detail, and at the same time I didn't want dark shadows to obscure detail in the amazing costume. I took a couple of very quick test shots and then adjusted the camera controls using manual exposure mode. I also had to use a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the fire. I wanted all of the details to be tack sharp. The settings were 1/200, f/6.3, and 2000 ISO. Thanks to my wife, Indiana, my group gets VIP passes which allows us to photograph from the best perspectives, i.e. right next to the TV cameras. My next tour here is August, 2025.
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